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Week One Discussion

Howard Simone

Basic Health Care Worker

Tampa Medical College

Instructor Cheryl Bensi

September 20, 2022

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Week One Discussion

The current delivery system of American healthcare is affected by several factors,

most of which make it less viable when viewed by those of other developed countries. The

most significant factor is the healthcare financing systems that have long been based on

people's socioeconomic characteristics (Potter et al., 2021). Poor healthcare insurance

policies have made many people not in a position to access healthcare, and this has affected

delivery. Also, the disease prevalence has greatly affected care delivery (Mosadeghrad,

2018). Increased chronic infections, especially among senior citizens, increase government

expenditure, leading to unequal distribution of finances in other places. With more efforts

placed on addressing chronic illnesses, any rise in infectious diseases always affects the

delivery of better care (Mosadeghrad, 2018). Also, the competence of providers influences

how well care may be delivered. A highly competent healthcare provision system will

adequately address health issues, enhancing care delivery.

Emerging healthcare issues have both negative and positive effects on care delivery.

For instance, technology in healthcare has enhanced evidence-based approaches to solving

health issues (Potter et al., 2021). Therefore, it creates positive outcomes for care delivery.

However, when technology policies are not well structured, the cost of care may be way

above expected. Notably, bioethics enhances care delivery by providing a platform where

healthcare decisions can be made ethically without interfering with the patient's consent

(Potter et al., 2021). Arguably, epidemiology has expanded the knowledge of infectious

diseases, resulting in better approaches to addressing infections. Understanding the

socioeconomic factors of a population helps in policy formulation and prioritization of

resources based on the available data.

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Discursively, healthcare professionals are expected to be highly ethical, professional,

and of high morals in their practice. When ethics are considered in the care practice,

professionalism will automatically be embraced since the two complements each other.

Morals inside medical services are significant because specialists should perceive medical

services problems and pursue great decisions and choices in light of their qualities while

keeping inside the regulations that oversee them. This is especially important when dealing

with contemporary ethical issues such as "Patients' Rights, Equity of resources,

Confidentiality of the patients, Patient Safety, Conflict of Interests, Ethics of privatization,

Informed Consent, Dealing with the opposite sex, Beginning and end of life, and, Healthcare

team ethics" (Alkabba et al., 2017, pg. 3). These issues are sensitive and it is not advisable to

disclose them without the consent of a patient.

The ethics behind disclosing such information and the consequences are described in

the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). It sets rules and policies

regarding such disclosure, helping maintain healthcare delivery ethics and professionalism.

There are points when a person's health conditions cannot allow them to make personal

decisions regarding their health. Therefore, an advance directive, a document stating the

wishes upon being incapable of making a decision, is provided (ML, 2017). The reason

behind the document is to avoid any associated legal and ethical implications of healthcare

procedures offered.
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References

Alkabba, A., Hussein, GhaiathM. A., Albar, A., Bahnassy, A., & Qadi, M. (2017). The major

medical ethical challenges facing the public and healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia.

Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 19(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-

8229.94003

ML, M. (2017). Advance Directives and Advance Care Planning. Nursing & Healthcare

International Journal, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.23880/nhij-16000107

Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2018). Factors Influencing Healthcare Service Quality. International

Journal of Health Policy and Management, 3(2), 77–89.

https://doi.org/10.15171/ijhpm.2014.65

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Hall, A., & Stockert, P. A. (2021). Fundamentals of nursing (10th

ed.). Mosby Elsevier.