The healthcare Industry depends on the information collected from patients, their ailments and other conditions to which it treats. The information assists the Public Health industry to determine how well it delivers its care services to the target industry. For the organization, determining the performance of the clinic will better assist the management to determine which area requires much more attention and additional policies, rules or educational exposure. The organization researched the details about the number of clients we receive based and the services requested or delivered. The results of the research conducted are presented in this report.
Policies on Diabetes in the United States
In the United States currently, Diabetes is a leading public health problem. Currently, over 12% of America’s adults are affected by Diabetes. In this response, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has suggested the development of healthcare policies and conceptual frameworks which will guide public facilities in preventing patients from contracting diabetes Type 2 mostly (Nowinski Konchak, Moran, O’Brien, Kandula, & Ackermann, 2016). Many individuals are currently experiencing prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are high but are not high enough to be categorized as diabetes. For this reason, the ACA is researching on ways through which it will be able to reduce the spread of diabetes and improve the reach of Medicaid. Ultimately, this would lead to the treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes in the United States population reducing the population of people affected by the disease.
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The ACA is also responsible for ensuring healthcare access is improved among the people. It was to review the current consumer protections and improve the quality of the care systems (Herman & Cefalu, 2015). It was to start awareness of the risk of diabetes and improve the testing of blood glucose or hemoglobin. Also, it was to lower the costs of healthcare in the United States to ensure individuals who live below the poverty line, and those earning low incomes can meet the costs required for healthcare (Nowinski Konchak et al., 2016).
Public Health Dashboard Analysis
The research conducted featured the delivery of services to patients who came to the facility for the treatment of Diabetes based on three factors. Based on race, the facility received the most number of new patients being white in the last quarter being recorded at 355 (63%). American-Indians 73 (13%) were second followed by Asians 34 (6%), African Americans 17 (13%) and other races 11 (2%). There were also people who declined to divulge their race. The number stood at 73 (13%).
From the above information, it is clear that the ACA health policies are not yet as affordable to the persons who earn low incomes or live below the poverty line. Currently, in the United States, the African-American people are recorded to be living under the poverty line. They are the persons who receive low incomes and are thus unable to afford quality healthcare. From the statistics, the number of patients from the community is very minimal. This shows that the ACA is yet to achieve a favorable cost for healthcare provision (Herman & Cefalu, 2015).
Based on Gender, the new males who visited the facility were 214 (38%), whereas the females were 347 (62%). From the statistics, it is evident that the number of females who are susceptible to contracting diabetes is greater than the males. Additionally, the number of females who can afford healthcare is greater than the males within the society. It is evident that within the society or nation, the awareness of the risk of diabetes to women is less than to men. Women are at a higher risk of developing diabetes from the statistics.
Based on age, the new patients reported for diabetes treatment who are 45-64 year olds who were 214 in number (38%) was the highest. The number was followed by the sixty-five and above at 180 (32%). 20-year-olds or younger were 118 (21%) while those aged between 21-44 were 51 (9%). The above information indicates that a lot of the people who depend on healthcare for the treatment of chronic illnesses are those aged from 45 years and above. The elderly persons greatly depend on the presence of affordable systems that they can afford.
The facility should ensure that it provides the necessary care services which are suitable for the age group that is dominant. While providing the treatment services, nurses and other care personnel should ensure that they do not violate the rights or make the patients feel uncomfortable. They should also be considerate of the person’s age and ensure they do not overstep in the delivery of services (Herman & Cefalu, 2015).
From the dashboard provided, there is also information on the number of patients who visit the facility for eye, foot and blood sugar exams. The results were conducted over four quarters spanning from 2015 to 2016. The fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2016 recorded the highest numbers of visitations. This means that the patients visit the Public Health facility for exams during the end and the beginning periods of the year.
From the above statistics, the facility should invest more in ensuring the care services provided meet the expectations of more mature age groups. Also, setting up various procedures, or benchmarks which allow the facility to attract persons from various other races better would be an area to improve on. The presence of Medicaid or other ACA policies and regulations should be set in such a manner that they also allow for the hospital to volunteer or set up programmes which attract other members and age groups within that given area (Martin, 2005).
The facility should also focus on creating awareness for the treatment of diabetes and its prevention in the younger generation (Funnell & Anderson, 2004). As more elderly persons are recorded with diabetes, the need to ensure that all the patients visiting the facility are aware of the various treatment options is essential in creating patient empowerment as a method to spread education on diabetes prevention.
References
Funnell, M. M., & Anderson, R. M. (2004). Empowerment and Self-Management of Diabetes. Clinical Diabetes , 22 (3), 123–127. https://doi.org/10.2337/diaclin.22.3.123
Herman, W. H., & Cefalu, W. T. (2015). Health Policy and Diabetes Care: Is It Time to Put Politics Aside? Diabetes Care , 38 (5), 743–745. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc15-0348
Martin, J. (2005, October 5). Diabetes prevention programs built around Afrocentric culture successful in changing dietary behavior of African-American women | The Source | Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://source.wustl.edu/2005/10/diabetes-prevention-programs-built-around-afrocentric-culture-successful-in-changing-dietary-behavior-of-africanamerican-women/
Nowinski Konchak, J., Moran, M. R., O’Brien, M. J., Kandula, N. R., & Ackermann, R. T. (2016). The State of Diabetes Prevention Policy in the USA Following the Affordable Care Act. Current Diabetes Reports , 16 (6), 55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-016-0742-6
