Socialized Medicine and Quality of Care
Name
Course
Professor
Date
Socialized Medicine and Quality of Care
Socialized medicine refers to a system of health care where the government provides subsidies to hospitals so that the cost can be affordable to all people. Despite the fact that the United State of America spends double the amount other industrialized nations spend on health care, it still reports poorer health outcomes compared to them (Rudiger, 2008). According to the American College of Physicians, high quality health care is generally readily accessible to Americans without long waits but at a high cost. However, not everyone can afford the high cost. The most affected by this high costs are the low income earners, those with disability and the elderly. Children are also affected by the high costs as they need health care more often than adults ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Cummings%20JR%22%5BAuthor%5D” Cummings , HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Lavarreda%20SA%22%5BAuthor%5D” Lavarreda , HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Rice%20T%22%5BAuthor%5D” Rice and HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Brown%20ER%22%5BAuthor%5D” Brown, 2009).
The United States health care system comprises mainly of private health care providers. This is where the cost of health care is set according to the market dynamics in an area (Shi, Leiyu & Singh, 2011). In a socialized medicine system, the government takes up part of the cost of health care by providing subsidies to ease the burden on needy individuals within the nation. It controls and regulates the cost of health care. National health care programs have been put in place to help those with low or no income, the elderly, children and those with permanent disabilities. Other countries that have a socialized health care system include Canada and U.K.
Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicare are the major socialized programs that deal with these vulnerable populations. They ensure that healthcare is accessible to all populations within the US at a low and affordable cost (Wilson, 2005). Other programs include the Veterans Health Administration. There is a concern that the quest for universal health care has compromised the quality of health care provided. In this research we seek to establish if the quality of care has been compromised by socialized medicine or not. There are also recommendations on how the quality of care can be maintained with provision of socialized health care.
According to Dorn, about 47 million people in the US are uninsured and 22,000 preventable deaths each year can be attributed to a lack of insurance cover. This is caused by the inability of many to pay the high insurance premiums. As a result of this, most people are using national health care programs, Medicaid and Medicare as their primary health insurance cover. Despite these high costs, there is still some resistance towards the development of a national health program in America.
The health care cost in America is generally high to both the federal government and the individual. According to the American College of Physicians, 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is spent on health care and is expected to reach 15% by 2015. According to the HYPERLINK “http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3746,en_2649_37407_2085200_1_1_1_37407,00.html” Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the US spends a lot of money on health care compared to other countries such as Canada, UK, Germany, Norway and many others. The amount spent on health care is close to 20% of the total.
With this high spending, there is need to ensure that the quality of health care provided justifies the amount being spent. The percentage of people on government insurance (Medicare, Medicaid and military health care) in 2006 was 27% which was an increase of 2.3% compared to the year 2000 (US Bureau of the Census, 2006). More people are now relying on government health programs compared to previous years
According to Goodman, in U.K and Canada where they have a national health care system, patients have to wait for a long time before they can receive health care because it is on a first come first serve basis and there are usually a lot of people waiting. This is in contrast with privatized hospitals in America where one receives health care fast and does not have to wait for long hours. This is however associated with high costs being paid.
In America, the socialized system is viewed with a lot of suspicion especially with regards to the quality of health care received. It is believed that institutions which provide national health care do not have sufficient equipment to meet patient needs adequately. They are also believed to have fewer physicians available and they are not able to spend enough time with patients to address their problems (Mason, 2011). These are some of the issues related to socialized health care that should be addressed to ensure that socialized care does not translate to lack of quality health care for individuals.
These concerns make it hard for the government to implement the Affordable Care Act so as to ensure everyone in America has access to health care despite their income or status. Health insurance policies for individuals and family packages are rising in cost and prescription drugs are also becoming expensive. This is making a lot of people eligible for national health programs provided by the government such as Medicare and Medicaid (Shi, Leiyu & Singh, 2011).
Socialized medicine can help a lot of people, especially those who cannot afford private health care, if it is fully implemented due to the reduction in the cost of health care especially to people with regenerative diseases such as diabetes, cancer and kidney failures(Shi, Leiyu & Singh, 2011). As a result if this, institutions dealing with this have to provide quality health care similar to the one provided by private health care providers.
There are several issues of health care that make people skeptical towards socialized medicine. This include high taxes to pay for socialized health care, long lines and waiting times when one goes for health care, few competent physicians in public medical institutions, lack of equipment in the institutions and delays in getting treatment for individuals seeking health care(Goodman, 2012). Most individuals also feel that national health care programs are just another way for the government to control all issues in the country. These issues have led to poor reception and attitudes towards the system in the country.
According to Goodman, hospitals providing national healthcare do not have adequate equipment to provide care for their patients. Such machines include kidney dialysis machines, pace makers and sometimes even x ray machines. These make it difficult for patients to receive timely treatment and may lead to unnecessary deaths. Patients are then forced to wait until the equipment is available for use or seek privatized care which is expensive and may cause their financial situation to be even direr. Lack of equipment may also lead to delay in diagnosing diseases. For example x ray machine are used to view the state of internal organs of patients thereby enabling the doctor to properly diagnose ad prescribe treatment.
Another issue that affects quality of health care in national health care providers is individuals having to wait in line for long before being attended to. With the rise in the number of individuals using socialized programs for health care, there are more people seeking treatment at any particular time. This means that people have to wait as the institutions operate on a first come first serve basis (Wilson, 2005). People who need urgent medical attention become worse or even die as they wait to be attended to. Delays in treatment may mean the difference between life and death for a patient. There is also a lot of bureaucracy and procedures to be followed before one can access health care in a socialized system. This causes delays and some patients even give up before receiving the treatment they require.
There is also a problem of shortage of physicians in institutions under national health care programs due. Most physicians prefer to work in private institutions due to the higher pay. The private institutions are also able to change their fees depending on the market forces thus allowing them to make more money. They therefore prefer private practices. This affects the quality of health care. The shortage of physicians makes the problem of delay in treatment even worse (Mason, 2011).
According to Goodman, institutions under national programs have a high patient to doctor ratio. A doctor has to see many patients per day as there are many patients who need treatment. This reduces the time a doctor takes to diagnose a patient thereby increasing the chances of errors and wrong treatment given to the patient. For example in Britain, where socialized medicine system is practiced, the average doctor sees an average of 50 percent more patients than one in America.
Socialized medicine system in other countries that have already implemented it such as Canada and U.K has not inspired much confidence in the system (American College of Physicians, 2008). Affluent citizens from Canada seek treatment from the U.S because it is better than in Canada. In both Canada and U.K, survival rates for patients with diseases such as prostate cancer are lower compared to those in the U.S. Therefore it causes hesitation among people to trade the private health care system for the government one.
Countries with socialized system such as the U.K and Sweden have recently experienced problems such as shortage of doctors and complaints about the competency of doctors under the government health care scheme. According to the telegraph, there are doctors under the National Health Service (NHS) who are responsible for 9000 patients. These are mostly family doctors. In Sweden, the shortage has led to recruitment of doctors from other countries such as Finland. Competency of doctors in such countries is questioned because they do not have to compete for patients through providing excellent medical services but are allocated patients according to their locations. There are also issues of shortage of bed space in the U.K with some patients being treated in corridors of medical facilities or left in ambulances during emergencies (The Huffington Post, 2012). These issues have compromised the quality of health care given to patients.
There is also a general feeling that people would not take better care of their health if they knew they could receive treatment cheaply (American College of Physicians, 2008). This would lead to issues such as obesity and frequent infections related to diabetes among others which can be reduced by a change in lifestyle. Expensive health care has prompted people to eat and live more healthily in a bid to keep lifestyle diseases at bay. This has increased the overall wellness of the nation.
Freedom is also a critical issue associated with the implementation of a socialized health care system. In America, freedom is one of the most prized aspects among people. Introducing a completely socialized system will reduce the choices of people as to which health care policies to take and the health facilities they can visit or take their children when they are ill or for checkups (Wilson, 2005). This is one of the many reasons why some people are opposed to a socialized system.
These issues lead to people having a poor attitude towards the provision of health through a socialized health care system. They should therefore be addressed if any progress is to be made in the implementation of a national health care system. A socialized medicine system will be beneficial to the vulnerable population which includes disabled people, the elderly over 65, children and the financially needy with low or no income (Dorn, 2008).
Measures that should be taken to ensure that the quality of medicine is not compromised as a result of the shift to a socialized health care system (American College of Physicians, 2008). This can be done by ensuring proper training of physicians and ensuring they are enough in each facility, ensuring the medical facilities that are under the system have all the necessary equipment and creating accountability in the system so that people have more faith in the system. Efforts should also be made to change the perspectives of people towards the socialized system.
Proper training and adequate numbers of physicians ensures that malpractices are reduced and the patient doctor ratio is at an acceptable level. Delays are reduced and the patient can spend enough time with each patient and thereby reduce the chances of misdiagnosing them. Adequate numbers of physicians in a medical facility compared to its capacity also increases the confidence of people in it since they are assured of accessibility (Mason, 2011).
The government should allocate funds for the medical facilities to ensure they have necessary equipment such as dialysis machines and x ray machines. This enables the office to be able to provide medical care for most conditions without having to refer them to other medical facilities. This will reduce deaths among patients as they wait to access machines as well as help in quick diagnosis and treatment of diseases (Goodman, 2012).
According to Wilson, accountability in health care facilities especially those dealing with socialized medicine should be prioritized for successful improvement of quality of care. This includes monitoring the facilities to ensure patients are receiving the correct care and holding physicians accountable for deaths of patients in their care. This will increase vigilance among the health care providers and thereby reduce malpractices in the facilities.
Accountability also includes transparent use of funds used in the health care facilities and ensuring they are used for the purposes intended. An example is ensuring that funds to be used to buy equipment or drugs are used for the exact purpose. Accountability will also reduce fears that funds from taxes paid are misused (Goodman, 2012). This will increase the faith of people in the government’s capability to provide an effective and efficient health care system.
The advantages of a socialized health care are also many. It provides access to health care for the most vulnerable populations in the country (Miller, 2011). These are the elderly, those with little or no income, those with disabilities and children. These groups especially the elderly, disabled and children require health care more frequently than other people and this can be very costly. Elderly people are also more susceptible to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
Children require frequent health care especially when they are very young because they need vaccinations and their immunity is still not strong. They catch infections easily as a result of their immunity not being fully developed. An example of a public health care program that has catered for the medical needs of children is the Medicaid program and State Children’s Health Insurance Program in California. They have ensured levels of health care access similar to that obtained by children with year-round private coverage ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Cummings%20JR%22%5BAuthor%5D” Cummings , HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Lavarreda%20SA%22%5BAuthor%5D” Lavarreda , HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Rice%20T%22%5BAuthor%5D” Rice and HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Brown%20ER%22%5BAuthor%5D” Brown, 2009).
Socialized health care also reduces the cost of treatment to those in vulnerable populations. This is a welcome relief as it allows them to access treatment when they get ill before the infections become more serious as they try to get funds for treatment (Dorn, 2008). A socialized system also caters for subsidies on prescription drugs for patients making them more affordable and thereby enabling them to finish treatment. Costly drugs have a high rate of being forfeited as it becomes expensive to maintain the treatment.
In conclusion, a socialized health care system will greatly increase access to medical services. This will reduce deaths caused by lack of access to health care and delay in treatment. Improvement of services provided by government health care facilities is required for people to have more faith in it as well as to change their attitude. The federal and state governments should set up policies that will ensure that the national health program can compete with the private health programs in terms of the quality of health care provided to people.
Those can afford privatized health programs are also allowed to do so as it is their right. This reduces the influence of the government on where people should seek health care. Their choices are determined by their ability to afford treatment. The nationalized health care system is therefore left for those who require the subsidies provided by the system to afford treatment.
The health care system should be closely monitored to ensure that funds are used correctly and the government can account for it. Impact should also be seen in terms of more people accessing basic health care facilities and reduction in mortality rates especially among vulnerable populations. Accountability should be enhanced right from the top level to those who manage the medical institutions and administer health care services at the local levels. Once the system has been streamlined, it can be introduced at a larger scale to all people.
Works Cited
American College of Physicians. Achieving a High-Performance Health Care System with Universal Access: What the United States Can Learn from Other Countries .Ann Intern Med (2008) 148:55-75
Cummings, Janet, R., Lavarreda, Shana, A., Rice, Thomas, & Brown Richard. The effects of varying periods of uninsurance on children’s access to health care. Pediatrics. (2003) 123.3: 411-8.
Dorn, Starn. Uninsured and Dying Because of It: Updating the Institute of Medicine Analysis on the Impact of Uninsurance on Mortality. Urban Institute: Washington, DC, 2008.
Goodman, John. Five Myths of Socialized Medicine. Web. 10 April 2012. < HYPERLINK “http://www.cato.org/pubs/catosletter/catosletterv3n1.pdf” http://www.cato.org/pubs/catosletter/catosletterv3n1.pdf>
Miller, Arden, C. “Health Care of Children and Youth in America.” American Journal of Public Health Vol. 101 No. 1 (2011) 34-36.
Rudiger, Anja. “From Market Competition to Solidarity? Assessing the prospects of US health care reform plans from a human rights perspective” Health and Human Rights: An International Journal [Online], 10 5 Jun 2008
Shi, Leiyu. & Singh, Douglas, A. Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning 2011. Print.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United States. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: Washington, DC, 2006.
Wilson, Lawrence. America’s Socialized Healthcare. Freedom Daily, March, 2005. Web. April 20, 2012 HYPERLINK “http://drlwilson.com/Articles/america%27s%20socialized%20care.htm” http://drlwilson.com/Articles/america%27s%20socialized%20care.htm
The Huffington Post. Patients Treated In Corridors Of NHS Hospitals, Finds Royal College of Nursing Survey. The Huffington Post, May 13 2012. Web. May 24,2012 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/13/nhs-hospitals-patients-corridors-bed-shortage-royal-college-nursing_n_1512494.html
Mason, Rowena. Shortage of family doctors leaves health care in crisis. The Telegraph, Dec 26, 2011 Web. May 24,2012 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8978509/Shortage-of-family-doctors-leaves-health-care-in-crisis.html
