Health care services organization

Health care services included outpatient visits to physician, psychologist, social worker, sleep specialist, and mental health organization, as well as inpatient care and nursing-home care (when the primary reason for placement was the elders sleep disturbance). The total health care services for 1995 were estimated... 

The Flexner Reports paved the way for a more scientifically sound, empirically based allopathic branch of medicine to become the basis by which health care was practiced and organized. The federal government invested significant funds to expand the quantity and quality of health care services. The Hospital... 

It is quite fascinating how the organization, structure, and financing of health care services can be so very diverse in different countries around the world. 

A national health care system reflects the social, political, economic, and cultural character of a nation. A nation s historical roots and dominant values shape policies and directions for the organization, quality, financing, and access to health care services. These factors determine who gets what kind of care—at which locations, for what price, and paid by whom. 

It is quite fascinating how the organization, structure, and financing of health care services can be so very diverse in different countries around the world. One might think that leaders and policymakers would be aware of each other s national health systems and, by emulating the best features, that they would tend to move toward harmonization and greater similarity. 

As expenditures on health-care services shift from the citizen to the state, political-economic forces determine how and how much of the taxpayers money is spent on such services. Various government agencies are always in competition for the states limited resources. This stimulates a demand, both private and public, that the system be protected from exploitation by special interest groups, especially patients and doctors, and leads to the creation of new bureaucratic organizations, charged with preventing patients from receiv-... 

Three major themes have emerged from the epidemiologic patient safety research the frequency of adverse events, the types of medical accidents, and the cost of adverse events. As health services research continues to reveal when and under what conditions adverse events occur, leaders will have access to better information and tools to improve their organization. They will also be better prepared to address the powerful external influences, such as the reaction of purchasers to the cost of medical accidents, that will increasingly affect the contracting and financing of health care services. 

Leaders plan for the introduction of changes to minimize the potential of increased risk. The modern evolution of health care services has introduced complexity into the worlqjlace, and this is a major factor in the rate of medical accidents. The manner in which new technologies are introduced to the workplace can add risk and lead to unanticipated consequences. Leaders are responsible for ensuring that increased risk does not accompany the increased capabilities that come with progress. The following case study illustrates how one organization used incremental steps to reduce the risks of new technologies. 

Part C Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans are available in many areas. People with Medicare Parts A and B can choose to receive all of their health care services through one of these provider organizations under Part C... 

European Committee for standardization. EN15224 Health care services - Quality management systems — Requirements based Practical guide for the implementation of this standard in health care organizations. 

The practice of health care service at hospitals and clinics is mostly geared to process compliance and resource utilization. A shift from routine compliance to outcomes that emphasizes the final result would induce changes throughout the care-delivery system. For example, the provider-structure may have to be based on patient-centric concepts, requiring a major reengineering of operations. An outcome-oriented organization will focus on patient pathways and configuration of clinical processes that lead to desirable outcomes. Processes will be evaluated based on its positive contribution to the outcome and not the productivity (e.g., number of lab tests per week) of individual processes (Bohmer and Lee 2009). 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has incorporated pneumococcal and influenza immunization rates into some of their quality standards. Patients admitted to a hospital for community-acquired pneumonia should be screened for, offered, and vaccinated with pneumococcal and influenza vaccines prior to discharge if not previously administered. In physicians office practice, all persons over 65 years of age who have been hospitalized in the past year should be screened for, offered, and vaccinated with pneumococcal and influenza vaccines if not previously administered. Both of these standards will affect payment if the standard is not met. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has also incorporated these standards into their accreditation reviews of health care facilities. 

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