Health Care Course Work
1. Demographic: It is a term used in reference to statistical description of a population when dealing with societal aspects such as policy formation, marketing, and health care provision. Some of the aspects that are examined to give statistics in demographic are: age, race, location, home ownership, and disabilities, and ownership. For instance in reading B on the medical device daily, the term demographic is used in reference of proving that the elderly are outstripping health care capacity in Chicago.
2. Culture: the term is used to depict various meanings all of which can be summarized into three major meanings. It can mean: the exceptional savour of fine arts and humanities; incorporated beliefs, behaviours, and knowledge patterns in a person that is founded on social learning or personal thoughts; and it could mean values, beliefs, and goals that distinguish a group. In reading A on health care among Hispanics, the third definition is used to show that Hispanic culture contributes to their health disparities.
3. Epidemiology: A scientific study of patterns of health in a specific community. The study helps health care practitioners identify, treat, and prevent health risks. It is a quantitative discipline involving applied procedures such as: monitoring reports of a communicable disease in the community; researching on whether a particular food supplement would increase the risk of a disease; awareness programs of certain diseases, such as HIV; and historical and current trend analysis to forecast future health trends.
4. Managed Care: It is a term used in health care to mean usage of various methods in lowering the costs of health care provision. It involves the combination of health care services and their delivery. The two aspects managed are price paid for health services, and the utilization of services by the patient. The major aim of this strategy is to offer basic health services hence cost control. Examples are Medicare, and Medicaid.
5. Public Health: Discipline where critical stakeholders in the society are involved in a combined effort to prevent diseases, extend human life, and promote good health. Its focus is on health population analysis with the intention of preventing health risks. The dimensions that are controlled are physical, mental, and social well being of a population that ranges from small to large ones. It is an everyday activity seen in the society ranging from immunization practices to policies such as safety belt usage.
6. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): It is a type of managed care organization in USA with the sole purpose of offering reduced health care services to people and organizations attached to it. The organization is governed by a 1973 Act that requires companies having more than 25 workers provide options for them to enter into the HMO. Most HMO’s advocate for PCP (Primary Care Physician) who would direct health services to the subscribers. Types of HMO are group, staff, point of service, and independent models.
7. Medicare: A third party social insurance scheme in USA that is intended to cover: aged people over the age of 65; below 65 with physical or physical innate disabilities; and other special groups. The scheme is financed by payroll taxes on both self employed and employed people in the population. Benefits offered by this type of managed care scheme are divided into four segments and include: payment of hospital costs; payment of medical costs; prescription drugs; and other advantage plans such as specialty plans.
8. Medicaid: A social protection scheme in USA mainly for groups having low income and resources. The groups in this category include: disabled people, low-income people, HIV infected people, and many more. The scheme is financed at the federal level by the government and covers a wider range of health services. This means that Medicaid differs from state to state since the basis is on financial assets of a state population. The two types of Medicaid are community and nursing.
9. HIPAA Act (1996): law formed by the federal government in 1996 to cover for: security and privacy of health information, portability of health care coverage; and a record of how an individual’s health information is protected and handled. The reasons why the act was formulated was to: give people access and more control of their medical data; protect health information from disclosure and loses; and lower health costs due to simplifying health insurance claims. Organizations not complying with act are steeply punished with fines reaching $1.5 million.
10. NIH (National Institute of Health): It is a research agency specializing in biomedical and health research. It is found in the US department of health and human services consisting of 27 institutes and offices. The institute has the main objective of obtaining novel knowledge to help stop, identify, care for, and diagnose all spectrums of diseases and disabilities. It works towards this objective by carrying out research in its own labs, funding and supporting research outside its labs, and promoting communication of health and medical information.
11. References
Austin, A. & Wetle, V. (2012). The United States Health Care System: Combining Business, Health, and Delivery (2nd ed). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Gresenz, C.R., Rogowski, J. & Escarce, J.J. (2009). Community Demographics and Access to Health care among US. Hispanics. Health Research and Education Trust. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2009.00997.x. pp. 1542-1563
Harlow, J. (2010). H&HN: Eight Decades of Health Care.
Naar-King et al. (2007). Anciliary Services and retention of the youth in HIV care. Prevention Research Centre and AIDS Care. 19(2): 248_251.
n.d. (Friday, April 10th, 2009). Medical Device Daily. Vol. 13:68. Pp. 1-12
