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Running Head: US HEALTH CARE AND LAGGING LIFE EXPECTANCY 0

US Health Care System and Lagging Life Expectancy

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The US Health Care System and Lagging Life Expectancy

Introduction

Life expectancy in the US continues to fare poorly in the world despite numerous efforts by the government to improve the US health sector. The government however, passed a billed that seeks to bring to control the health care system to enable every stakeholder in the industry receive fair treatment from all players. Despite being an economic powerhouse, the US has performed poorly as compared to other countries that have a much lesser economic power. A number of diseases and cultures of life have led to the country lagging in life expectancy. This paper will talk about factors that contribute to the US lagging life expectancy, and how these factors can be managed given the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Discussion

A number of reasons both medical and non-medical have brought about life expectancy in the US. Crime rates among the youth through gun related crimes have risen over the years to an alarming rate. This forced the government to reconsider the use of privately owned guns through gun control measures (Int'L, B. P. U. 2013). Research shows that gun crime related deaths in the US are higher than any other country in the world. 2,028 deaths have been reported across the country in the year 2014 alone, because of gun related crimes. This being statistics of people of all ages from children to the old.

Cancer has also claimed the lives of many people both women and children. The increasing rate in cervical cancer among women and prostate cancer among men of a certain age has largely been associated with these deaths. The health care systems have not yet been harmonized to be able to cater for the needs of the cancer patients. Health insurance companies are not offering cover to cancer patients given the high expense of cancer treatment (Int'L, B. P. U. 2013). This has made it difficult for cancer patients to access medical care because of lack of finances and insurance covers. However, treatment of cancer has widely been viewed as a disease that only the rich can afford to pay for, due to the financial load involved.

Nutrition culture of many Americans is mostly centered on junk foods and processed food. The health care department, given the high risks of obesity and the medical conditions that come with it, has not adequately emphasized on educating people the benefits of healthy leaving. Heart problems and other body problems are brought about by poor nutrition (Bialek, Duffy, & Moran, 2009). Lifestyle habits like alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and drug abuse and overdose have also recorded deaths and this has yet to be put under control. Drug cartels still find their way through corrupt means and keep selling drugs to minors. Minors indulge in alcohol use and smoking despite the risks that come with the habit. Many deaths caused by drunken driving, drug overdose, suicides, and lung cancer that come with acute tobacco use.

The health care department has come up with ways through which patient information can be handled and kept secure through health care information systems. This is through the Software Development Life Cycle.

Analysis, where the need for security and storage of patient information is identified. This is vital to enable authorized medical practitioners access medical history and relevant information of a patient from any part of the country (Driouchi, 2013). With different medical conditions, it is important for every medical practitioner to have the medical history of their patient. This is important to avoid miss-diagnosis and have information on the health condition of a patient.

Design, where the systems is made in a way that is user friendly and passes all the security checks before it is rolled out for use. This is important to enable all health care practitioners easily access information with ease, when need arises. It should be made in a way that allows for time saving and ease of access.

Implementation, where the system is used by authorized individuals in the health care industry. They include insurance companies, hospitals and the government. The system should contain relevant provisions that suit the needs of the users.

Testing, where the system should be tested for security, to ensure that patient information is not accessible to unauthorized persons. It should also be tested to ensure that it is safe from hacking or any attacks by viruses.

Evolution, where people are designated with duties, of maintaining the systems, on a daily basis. The system development is important to ensure, its security is guaranteed and answers any questions that may arise from the users of the system.

Health information technology through health information systems is developed to ensure that the quality of health care is guaranteed (Driouchi, 2013). This is through secure storage of patient information, to be used by the relevant and authorized stakes holders in the industry. The health insurance providers can access information of their client’s medical transactions in order to make payments. The medical practitioners on the other hand can access medical history of their patients in order to administer correct treatment.

With the level of a diminishing life expectancy, a decision-making criterion should be followed to come up with a way of controlling the health care problems.

Need for controlling the lagging life expectancy arises with the statistics that place the US at a very low rate (Driouchi, 2013). Deaths that occur with crime, diseases and lifestyle can be identified at an early stage and measures put in place to control their occurrence.

Outcome of the entire process is achieved when deaths that arise from the above-mentioned causes are put at a minimum level.

Stakeholder review is also an important aspect because the health care industry is controlled by multiple players who together work differently to achieve a common goal (Driouchi, 2013). Involvement of all stakeholders is important in order to achieve the desired outcome.

The pros and cons of the process may include lack of stakeholder commitment and government goodwill. The advantages are citizen participation and involvement in the process will be the biggest achievement in attaining the desired goals.

The alternative to this is to lobby the US government Health Department, together with other stakeholders and security department to come up with a way to come up with measures that will bring to a minimum the low life expectancy problem.

Achievements to the process will be measured after a five-year period to decide whether the goals set have been attained (Driouchi, 2013). This will also act as a scorecard for decision making on what should be reviewed and what should remain the same.

The health care leader should play the role of ensuring that all the goals set are met in the given time period. They should also act as the channel through which every stakeholder in the industry communicates. The leader should also ensure that every stakeholder adheres to the rules and regulations set for the process. He or she should set the targets for every stakeholder and ensure that they all agree towards working on the same.

The goals of the Continuous Quality Improvement of the project include

• Setting up an agenda that will assist the CQI team to use data to identify issues and plan for adequate improvement.

• Providing information ahead of time and that can easily, be interpreted by the CQI team.

• Collection of participant feedback, and secure record keeping of the data in digital files, that can be used in case of future need.

• The CQI teams use collected data to select areas that require improvement by identifying measures of progress and development and implement further improvement plans.

The government also provides legislation under the law that governs operations f every stakeholder in the health care industry. It provides laws that protect patient information privacy. Every stakeholder operates under a set of rules provided by the Health Care act that seeks to ensure that the rights of every player are protected (Driouchi, 2013). In case there is a violation of any set rules and regulations, the law provides monetary penalties for the individuals found culpable

Recommendations

Process objective, where the health care institutions, should offer education on the importance and benefits of healthy nutrition. The government should put up measures to control gun use and also drug abuse and sale. Free cancer screening for prostate and cervical cancer should be introduced and implemented to enable early detection of the disease. The government should make it affordable for citizens to be able to acquire cover on diseases like cancer that most health insurance companies do not offer.

Impact objective, where every patient, after receiving cancer screening, or advice on healthy living, is able to use the information to improve his or her health status. The government putting gun control measures and tough laws on drug abuse can reduce the deaths that arise from these causes reduced over time.

Outcome objectives, where with all the measures put in place, and regulations implemented, life expectancy should improve in a span of 5 years. This is possible through participation of both the government, and every American citizen. Sensitization of drug enforcement on the effects of corrupt involvement will reduce the activities of the drug cartels in the society.

Conclusion

The Affordable Care Act implemented by the US government will perform well if all the stakeholders in the health care industry work together to achieve a common goal. With the introduction of Health Care Information Systems, patient care is improved due to the secure storage of patient information. The Health Care Information Systems have also made it possible for medical practitioners to access patient information from any part of the country. In case of a breach in privacy of patient information, relevant departments are tasked with the mandate of issuing monetary penalties under provisions of the law. Incorporation and involvement of every stakeholder in the management of the health care industry will lead to a significant improvement in the US lagging life expectancy. Projects undertaken by every stakeholder will play a big role in improving the health care system. Adequate education and training of patients on health matters will also improve the health care system in terms of capacity building.

References

Bialek, R. G., Duffy, G. L., & Moran, J. W. (2009). The public health quality improvement handbook. Milwaukee, Wis: ASQ Quality Press.

Driouchi, A. (2013). ICTs for health, education, and socioeconomic policies: Regional cases.

Int'L, B. P. U. (2013). United States healthcare sector organization, management and payment systems handbook.

McLaughlin, C. P., & Kaluzny, A. D. (2006). Continuous quality improvement in health care. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.