Essay on "Population Health to Prepare: &#8226"

Essay 4 pages (1290 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

The lack of available doctors in a given area may also be an issue. "The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that in 2015 the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than needed. And that number will more than double by 2025, as the expansion of insurance coverage and the aging of baby boomers drive up demand for care. Even without the health care law, the shortfall of doctors in 2025 would still exceed 100,000" (Lowrey & Pear 2912). It is recommended that an area have 60 to 80 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents, and 85 to 105 specialists while some areas have few as 40 primary care doctors and 70 specialists per 100,000 residents (Lowrey & Pear 2012). Rural areas, in particular, are underserved by physicians. These difficulties will worsen, as more persons have insurance and the influx of patients in the system grows. The aging of the population and the increase of patients with chronic lifestyle conditions like diabetes also will create barriers to access.

The shortage of primary care providers is a series subset of the issue of care access. Fewer and fewer physicians are willing to specialize in primary care. "Primary care doctors made about $200,000 a year. Specialists often made twice as much" (Lowrey & Pear 2012). Exorbitant medical school loans and a wide discrepancy in salaries have caused fewer and fewer doctors to select the field of primary care.

The ACA was an important step in encouraging more Americans to obtain health insurance, and ensuring that there are more venues through which citizens can obtain coverage, either through their parents in the case of young people or through Medicaid in the case of the working poor who may b

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e working multiple part-time jobs and are not eligible for insurance. It also placed restrictions upon health insurance companies, prohibiting the wholesale discrimination against patients with preexisting conditions and laid the foundation for health insurance 'exchanges' for individuals to find affordable care. Beginning in 2014, these "exchanges are new organizations that will be set up to create a more organized and competitive market for buying health insurance. They will offer a choice of different health plans, certifying plans that participate and providing information to help consumers better understand their options" (What is a health insurance exchange, 2012, Kaiser Permanente).

However, expanding health insurance is only the first step of expanding access to care. The government must support the expansion of the number of primary care providers, particularly in chronically underserved areas, either through government support of the education of those entering into needed fields of medicine or loan forgiveness programs for physicians who forego high salaries in highly desirable areas (What is a health insurance exchange, 2012, Kaiser Permanente). Improving the rate of reimbursements is also vital for physicians who agree to take on low-income patients.

Access to healthcare is a multifaceted issue, and must be addressed on a population-by-population basis, as the reasons for impeded access may vary amongst different communities. But it is an issue that must be addressed, given the consequences of a lack of consistent, preventative care for society are much greater than the costs of expanded insurance coverage and care in the long run.

References

Access to health services. (2012). Healthy People 2020. Retrieved:

http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=1

Galewich, Phil. (2012). Access to care in the U.S. worsens. St. Louis Dispatch. Retrieved:

http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/access-to-health-care-in-u-s-worsens-study-finds/article_84fad081-8f9e-523a-a24f-0c19403430c0.html

Lowrey, Anna & Richard Pear. (2012). Doctor shortage to worsen with U.S. healthcare law.

The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/health/policy/too-few-doctors-in-many-us-communities.html?_r=0

Overview of the uninsured in the United States: A summary of the 2011 current population survey. (2011). ASPE. Retrieved: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2011/cpshealthins2011/ib.shtml

Roy, Avik. (2012). Health affairs study. Forbes. Retrieved:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2012/08/07/health-affairs-study-one-third-of-doctors-wont-accept-new-medicaid-patients/

Trapp, Douglass. (2008). Health care access problems surge among insured Americans.

AMA. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/07/21/gvl10721.htm

What is a health insurance exchange? (2012). Kaiser Permanente.… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Population Health to Prepare: •" Assignment:

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To prepare: • Review the article “A Population Health Framework for Setting National and State Health Goals,” focusing on population health determinants. • Review the information in the blog post “What Is Population Health?” • With this information in mind, elect a population health issue that is of interest to you. • My Population Health Interest( access to health care,) • Using other relevant resources, conduct a search to locate current data on your population health issue access to health care • Consider how epidemiologic data has been used to design population health measures and policy initiatives in addressing this issue. • References:?Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.) The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html Kindig, D., Asada, Y., & Booske, B. (2008). A population health framework for setting national and state health goals. JAMA, 299(17), 2081–2083. doi: 10.1001/jama.299.17.2081 • Kindig, D. (2007). Understanding population health terminology. The Milbank Quarterly, 85(1), 139–161. ?Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. ??This article provides a valuable foundation in understanding the terminology of population health. Although written in 2007, the information in this article is very pertinent to the topics discussed this week. • Kindig, D., Asada, Y., & Booske, B. (2008). A population health framework for setting national and state health goals. JAMA, 299(17), 2081–2083. ?Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. ??Using a framework to craft policy and programs can help ensure that outcomes are measurable. The authors of this article note how some of the overarching goals of Healthy People 2010 were not measurable. They suggest a framework for developing more measurable goals for Healthy People 2020. • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Morbidity and mortality weekly report (MMWR). State health statistics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/StateHealth/index.html ??The CDC website provides health statistics gathered using epidemiologic methods. Explore the health statistics for your state or for a health problem of interest to you. • HealthyPeople.gov. (2010). Foundation health measures. Retrieved from http://healthypeople.gov/2020/about/tracking.aspx ??Healthy People 2020 uses the four foundational measures presented at this website to monitor the health of the American population. • State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities and Charles Sturt University. (2012). Core 1: Health priorities in Australia: How are priority issues for Australia’s health identified? Retrieved from http://hsc.csu.edu.au/pdhpe/core1/focus/focus1_1/4003/health_pri1_1_1.htm ??Australia uses epidemiologic data to establish its health priorities. Review the information presented at this website, and consider how the United States sets its health priorities. • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/TopicsObjectives2020/pdfs/HP2020_brochure_with_LHI_508.pdf ??This overview of Healthy People 2020 provides a description of goals of this program, along with indicators used to assess the health of the United States. • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). Healthy People 2020 – Improving the health of Americans. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx ??This site contains a wide variety of information and resources dealing with the Healthy People 2020 goals, as well as information on how to implement the objectives. • University of Wisconsin Department of Population Health Sciences. (n.d.). What is population health? Retrieved from http://www.improvingpopulationhealth.org/blog/what-is-population-health.html ??This website provides a definition of population health and health determinants. It also examines how health policy can influence determinants of health.

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