The cost of healthcare is becoming a challenge for many healthcare systems. Those who manage the economics of healthcare are being haunted by the dilemma on which services to scale down and which criteria to use for this. Healthcare sectors have been scooping huge funds of the government expenditure for a long time. The concern has been raised in order to cut unnecessary expenditures on healthcare. Recent research that was done by Young (2012) shows that America was considered to be the only country that spends much money in medical care as compared to other industrialized countries, but the quality of the healthcare in the country still lags behind. Higher and higher costs of healthcare have been attributed to the use of potentially wasteful, inefficient, and unnecessary medical services. The quality of healthcare in America is wanting regarding on how chronic diseases are being handled. The patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes usually do not receive proven and effective treatment such as drug therapy or self-management services to help them more effectively to manage their poor health conditions.
Any recent reform in healthcare should seek for including cost containment measures. Such measures can include lowering the length-of-stay and doing away with nonessential procedures. Healthcare financial managers should be keen to hold accountable those who might be involved in funds embezzlement through improved documentation. It should be noted, however, that cost containment measures on healthcare can be both good and disastrous. The measures can negatively impact the quality of care received by patients if these measures will mean minimizing some services like reducing the time taken in healthcare centers by patients; it might also lead to incomplete recovery-discharges on the basis of giving a chance for other patients. The paper analyzes whether trying to reduce the costs of healthcare will affect the quality of it.
Analysis
Containment of Healthcare Costs
The cost of healthcare is becoming a challenge for many healthcare systems. Those who control the economics of healthcare are being subjected to the dilemma on which services to reduce costs and what criteria to use. The United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world because it is domineered by the private sector, and the government only comes in to negotiate for cost reduction. This has daunted many people, and, as a result, many lives are being lost. The country has a very high mortality rate, and if better mechanisms are not employed in this sector, then the situation may worsen. This is especially common to insure, uninsured, and underinsured Americans who cannot access healthcare services easily in case of health complications.
Also, most of the physicians tend to subject their patients into routine screening and treatment that some of them do not even require and might be poisonous to the health of the patient. Managed care can be very efficient if controlled well. Conversely, people have to develop the right attitude towards managed healthcare. This type of care should not just direct all the steps any person has to take in order to acquire good health services; rather, they should be developed to give the person right to choose when people view themselves as though they are in control of their health.
