Introduction
The essence of the United States Healthcare Delivery System (HCDS) exhibits a complex entity that needs a comprehensive evaluation before considering any potential deconstruction. The paper provides an illumination to the reflective assessment entailing the current state of the U.S. HCDS while identifying the presence of its purpose and the population it serves. There is also the evaluation of the healthcare needs projected to be considered with concepts to note about its effectiveness. The paper will further address some of the specific barriers in practice, especially for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).
Current U.S HCDS
U.S. HCDS Purpose
The primary purpose of the U.S. HCDS is to ensure the utmost delivery of accessible healthcare services to all the population involved. The system also provides a comprehensive healthcare plan to the people, enabling them to benefit and have adequate access at their disposal. Promoting individuals’ health and overall well-being becomes the top priority, along with having an explicit management system that evaluates healthcare costs (Veet et al., 2020). The population has many individuals who face various situations and are not aligned with each other.
Population Served
The U.S. HCDS’s criteria to serve its people represents an intriguing cocktail of various dynamics. The system serves the diverse population in the country irrespective of the conditions that these people face. The population of interest comprises almost all individuals with all ages, socio-economic statuses, ethnicities, and health conditions accommodated in the setup (Mazumdar et al., 2021). As a result of ensuring the utmost delivery process to the population, the system aims to provide equitable access to healthcare services. The hindering factors that could arise during the implementation, such as demographic factors, should be addressed to ensure everyone benefits.
Projected Healthcare Needs
The healthcare system entails various changes that need to be done due to the ever-dynamic needs that arise in this era. Multiple challenges occur every day, bringing about the emergence of new healthcare needs. Projection of some of the healthcare requirements encompasses a dynamic shift towards creating a more patient-centered approach focusing on preventive measures. The projected aspects within the system entail more aged people within the population. These would bring about more chronic diseases warranting prompt and sustained management (Veet et al., 2020). Another projected healthcare need in the U.S. HCDS involves the provision of long-term care to older individuals together with services tailored to treat their mental health needs.
Current U.S HCDS Effectiveness
The nature of the effectiveness of the current HCDS represents a topic of ongoing discussion. Some advancements have been noted within the healthcare setup. These include improvements experienced in medical treatments and continued use of up-to-date technology, which have adversely improved medical outcomes. However, while the upgrades continue to be felt within the healthcare delivery systems, specific challenges persist (Mazumdar et al., 2021). These include the likes of accessibility, health inequities, and affordability cases, which bar people from using these services. Hence, the recommendation of an evolved system would ensure a centric approach with much more efficiency in service delivery and addressing these issues.
Barriers to NP Practice
Identified Barrier
The NP Practice of registered nurses contains various forms of barriers to the operations that take place. One of the significant barriers to working with the current HCDS is the presence of restrictive state regulations (Schirle et al., 2019). These restrictions limit the scope of practice within the jurisdiction of the APRNs. The fortified restrictions hinder the ability of NPs to provide a full spectrum of the variable healthcare services in the cadre they have been trained for, which ends up having ultimate repercussions. The other crucial effect resulting from the restrictions involves limiting access to healthcare services, which in most cases affects the underserved regions.
Proposed Solutions
To overcome the identified barrier of restrictive policies in state regulations, there needs to be a comprehensive solution incorporating advocating for removing these rules. The removal of these aspects will revolve around the use of evidence-based practice strategies to provide adequate results. Most research shows that states involved in full practice authority pertaining to the working environments of the NPs tend to experience heightened patient satisfaction with improved access to primary care (Schirle et al., 2019). There is also the advantage of having cost-effective healthcare delivery systems that benefit the entire workforce. Promotion of the changes in policy and alignment with evidence-based practices would allow for the contribution of significant opportunities for NPs to meet the healthcare needs of the people.
The Redesigned U.S HCDS
Proposed HCDS Objectives
The proposed nature of the HCDS objectives involves formulating various strategies that aim to provide adequate changes in the system. The objectives include creating patient-centered care that targets holistically improving the lives of the affected. There is also an objective to provide equitable healthcare, which addresses most of the population’s evolving needs (Mazumdar et al., 2021).
As a result, preventive care is promoted within the paradigms of the healthcare profession. There would be an increased rate of the efficient management of chronic conditions, ensuring timely access to the formulated high-quality healthcare services. However, some of the liabilities that might arise entail the presence of negligence from the service providers and malpractice from some of the health workers that undermine the integrity of the HCDS.
Served Population
The redesigned form of the HCDS continues to offer service delivery that covers a diverse population. The holistic approach provides a base for emphasis on inclusivity and adapting cultural competence (Khayal & Farid, 2021). All the various groups of people within the society and their different needs are included in the treatment programs, ensuring a widespread distribution of healthcare services.
Furthermore, there will be a generation of special attention to addressing the needs of the underserved and marginalized communities in healthcare. These prospects ensure that there is prompt elimination of the health disparities that exist with improvement in the overall health outcomes. The underserved people will be given an increased priority, particularly the individuals who have not been keen on their follow-ups and health checkups due to financial constraints. The introduction of certain offices or camps for these people in the organizations and other institutions to reach out and check their insurance and other criteria would allow more of the people to be served.
Provided Services
The provision of services depends on many variables, which entail the need to solve the problems of the people. As a result, the benefits will focus on establishing a holistic approach to the healthcare system. These ensure that all aspects contributing to the patient’s health are considered and treated appropriately. Other services will also include integrating primary care while providing preventive care to the population (Khayal & Farid, 2021).
There is also a particular focus on mental health services and chronic disease management due to the rapidly rising population of older individuals in society. Some of the detailed provision of services will incorporate telehealth and technology-enabled care models, which, through integration, provide an enhanced form of accessibility and continued convenience to the people.
Financial Base and Provider Mix
The healthcare delivery system requires the presence of monetary funds to operate efficiently. According to the American Medical Association (2023), hospital care alone costs 1323.9 billion dollars, with a total of 4255.1 billion dollars overall healthcare, which incorporates physicians, prescription drugs, and other kinds of medical services. One way to set up an adequate economic base will be related to the grounding of a combination of private and public funding that emphasizes value-based care.
The healthcare delivery system will also adapt incentives for population health management and preventive care. The essence of the provider mix will entail a collaborative service delivery from the entire team incorporated with physicians, APRNs, pharmacists, and other professionals, prioritizing providing comprehensive care (Bekemeier et al., 2021). Establishment of all the efforts from the team and full practice authority regarding the reach of the NPs will ensure that there is implementation of a nationwide optimization and utilization of expertise and skills
Broad Implementation Strategy
Various strategies need to be considered for the adequate operations of the healthcare delivery system. The process of the whole implementation strategy will involve the use of collaboration between key stakeholders such as healthcare institutions, policymakers, and various advocacy groups. These people would drive the legislative changes and promote full practice authority for the NPs. The timeline for these implementations would include an adopted phased approach to the states’ advocacy efforts with restrictive regulations. The goal would be to attain the target within a minimum of five years for the nationwide changes in policy (Mazumdar et al., 2021).
The necessary resources for the expedition will involve allocation to advocacy campaigns and educational initiatives. These resources comprise of the financial and human measures. The financial resources will comprise the ways in which there is the consumption of health goods and services, which incorporates outpatient care, pharmaceuticals, prevention, and public health services. The prompt collaboration with stakeholders to support evidence-based policy changes will be a crucial aspect to consider.
Conclusion
The evaluation of the current U.S. HCDS provides a vivid description of the areas that require improvement while proposing the redesign incorporating evidence-based solutions. These would ensure that the barriers are identified and solved in adequate time. Focusing on patient-centered care and equitable access to care creates a more inclusive healthcare system. Others will include removing restrictive regulations about APRNs and having a redesigned HCDS to provide more efficient and accessible healthcare services. Collaboration of various stakeholders and implementation of the evidence-based strategies following a phased approach that contributes to the transformative process.
References
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