Towards a Competitive Health Care System

The antitrust laws constitute the foundation and fundamental strength of the U.S. democratic free enterprise system. Competition enhances both the democratic and economic opportunities, including in the healthcare markets. Although healthcare markets have significant market imperfections, a competitive system is more appropriate for the healthcare markets because it delivers choice among alternatives that regulation does not. Thus, the question to ask in the healthcare system is what can be done to make competition work better

Issues Regarding the Peruvian Maternal and Child Healthcare System

This paper highlights the deficiencies of the Peruvian Healthcare system. Despite the treaties and covenants the Peruvian government has signed, it has done little to mitigate the ills of its broken healthcare system. Peru’s current healthcare system is characterized by inequality between women, children, the poor and the wealthy. Furthermore, there is a lack of accessibility to maternal and child healthcare services that violates every individual’s right to health. The Peruvian government has been unresponsive towards the needs of women, children, and rural culture. Ineffective non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been incapable of alleviating Peru’s broken system. Additionally, Peru has not received adequate economic funds from globalization efforts despite the proven success of new programs, particularly the new cultural adaptations to healthcare services that have been implemented. The research performed in this study discovered a statistically significant negative relationship between the amount of Peruvian gross domestic product (GDP) invested in health and the nation’s infant mortality rate, proving the importance of government expenditure investment in the healthcare system. This finding proved that as the amount invested in health increased, the rate of infant mortality decreased. In order to increase the quality of healthcare received by Peruvians, especially women and children, it is necessary that more finances be invested into Peru’s healthcare system

Ubiquitous healthcare profile management applying smart card technology

Nowadays, the patient-centric healthcare approach is focused on ubiquitous healthcare services. Furthermore, the adoption of cloud computing technology leads to more efficient ubiquitous healthcare systems. Moreover, the personalization of the delivery of ubiquitous healthcare services is enabled with the introduction of user profiles. In this paper, we propose five generic healthcare profile structures corresponding to the main categories of the participating entities included in a typical ubiquitous healthcare system in a cloud computing environment. In addition, we propose a profile management system incorporating smart card technology to increase its efficiency and the quality of the provided services of the ubiquitous healthcare system

Co-producing healthcare in a volume vs. value-based healthcare system: perspective of a parent of a patient and a health professions’ educator

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim framework represents an approach to optimizing a health system’s performance by focusing on improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing healthcare costs. As the US healthcare system undergoes substantial reformation and a shift from fee-for-service payment to value-based models, an approach that emphasizes the co-production of healthcare, our healthcare system must work in concert with the Triple Aim to improve the health experience for patients across multiple environments. Co-production in healthcare means that patients contribute to the provision of health services as partners of professional providers. To highlight how the current healthcare model failed a patient by delaying diagnosis and subsequent care, thus causing undue suffering, the personal experience of one of the author’s children is reported as a narrative. The purpose of communicating this patient experience is to: 1) remind healthcare providers about the importance of not only listening, but hearing the patient and their parent’s concerns; 2) readily admit when a patient’s clinical presentation falls outside of their expertise; and 3) co-produce healthcare by working with the patient and their family. This patient experience serves to reinforce the commitment to co-produce health with patients and their families in a manner that emphasizes the value of care

HealthPartners: Consumer-Focused Mission and Collaborative Approach Support Ambitious Performance Improvement Agenda

Presents a case study of a nonprofit healthcare organization that exhibits the six attributes of an ideal healthcare delivery system as defined by the Fund, including information continuity, care coordination and transitions, and system accountability

An Analysis of Current Healthcare Proposals: Obama and McCain

The healthcare system of the U.S. is broken. The next opportunity for overwhelming healthcare system reform will be when the next president takes office. This paper analyzes the 2008 presidential election candidates McCain and Obama healthcare proposals through a look at key players in the current healthcare system (government, pharmaceuticals, doctors, hospitals, and health insurance companies) and the affects of implementing such a plan. The presidential plans are presented side by side. Projected outcomes of the changes offered by Obama will be an increased role of the government and decreased power of the health insurance companies while increasing coverage. The McCain plan would have more choice for individuals with a transparent system, and less governmental bureaucracy while embracing the free market competition of the health insurance industry. There will be obstacles and/or resistance to any reform passed by the presidential elect, no matter which man had won

An Automatic and Intelligent System for Integrated Healthcare Processes Management

In this work, an automatic and intelligent system for integrated healthcare processes management is developed on a constraint based system. This project has been carried out in collaboration with a real assisted repro-duction clinic. Our goal is to improve the efficiency of the clinic by facilitating the management of the integrated healthcare system. This is very important in an environment in which the healthcare processes present complex temporal and resource constraints.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2016-76956-C3-2-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2015-71938-RED

Quiet No More: Philadelphia Confronts the Cost of Employee Benefits

Examines the financial difficulties Philadelphia's pension and healthcare benefits system faces due the stock market decline and rising healthcare costs in comparison with those of nine other cities' systems. Analyzes proposed restructuring plans