Trends in Health Care
Health care is affected by science and technology. Technology in the 21st century has been “explosive.”
Preventive Medicine and Wellness
Hospital Wellness Centers
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation
- Occupational Medicine
- Sports Medicine
- Clinical Weight Management
- Physical Therapy
Factors Related to Wellness:
Increase in an aging population. In 2011 the first baby boomers began to receive Medicare, our national health insurance for the elderly. This affects our society because older adults require more health care services. The health care system and each professional must be prepared to meet the needs of an aging population.
Health Care Reform
Health care costs are increasing in the United States because of growing demand and more costly procedures. Uninsured or underinsured individuals also cause the cost of health care to rise.
Hospitals that are partially supported by taxes provide care to uninsured people with low incomes. Hospitals or health care providers often pass on these costs to patients who have insurance or can afford to pay full price. This raises the prices charged by providers and insurance companies.
Outpatient Care
- Home Health Care
- Benefits
Health Care Facilities
Hospitals – Inpatient Facilities
Long-Term Care
Offices and Clinics
Laboratories
Emergency Medical Services
Home Health Care
Hospices
Health Care Agencies
Government Agencies
- ______– monitors and prevents disease outbreaks. Guards against international disease transmission, maintains health statistics, provides immunization services, supports disease and injury prevention research, and promotes healthy behaviors and environments.
- ______– ensures food and cosmetics are safe and that medication and medical devices are safe and useful
- ______– supports research projects working to end diseases.
- ______– an international agency sponsored by the United Nations and is the directing and coordination authority on international health. Helps people to attain the highest possible levels of health, compiles health statistics and information on disease and publishes health information, and trains medical personnel in techniques to improve general health or combat specific diseases.
Volunteer and Nonprofit Health Agencies
- Examples:
Major Health Care Funding Programs in the United States
Paying for health care:
Most people rely on health insurance to pay for health care. A subscriber pays a premium to an insurance company. The subscriber is often an employer, but subscribers can also be individuals. The insurance company decides what services will be covered. If the service is covered, the insurance company pays for that service. Many plans limit the amount they will pay for a service and also sets deductibles, or the amount an insured person must pay before the insurance company begins to pay.
Employers often offer insurance coverage to employees, this is group insurance. The employer may pay part or all of the premium as an employment benefit.
In 2010, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, extending coverage to 32 million previously uninsured Americans. The act also bans lifetime limits on coverage, exclusions for preexisting conditions, and policy cancellations when a person becomes ill, parents can also keep their children on a family policy until age 26.
Medicare
Medicaid
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Commercial Insurance Companies
Military Health Care
Self-Insurance
Managed Care
- ______ – clients pay a monthly premium to the HMO, which entitles them to checkups and preventive care, medical care, prescriptions, and hospitalization if needed. The HMO employs its own physicians and other health care providers and may own or manage its own hospitals. Clients are restricted to using only HMO facilities and physicians, if the client goes outside the system, they must pay for all of their expenses.
- ______ – a group consisting of physicians, usually at least one hospital, as well as ancillary providers that coalesces to form a system of care. This system is marketed and sold, contractually, to employers. The physicians, hospital, and others remain independent agents who agree to treat certain clients at discount prices.
Workers’ Compensation
Private Pay
Uncompensated Care