Retain medicine are health care clinics that provide treatment for acute conditions such as minor skin problems and bronchitis , in additional to vaccinations and other preventive care such as cholesterol screenings and hypertension. Retail clinics offer services that are affordable, convenient and timely on a limited opportunity of walk-in basis. These health facilities are located in pharmacies and retails such a Walmart and Target (Mehrotra, Adams, Thygeson and McGlynn 2011). Basically, Physician assistants and nurse practitioners staff this retail clinics and who endeavour a high customer satisfaction level. These clinics continue to offer quality health care and create a threat to the financial viability of private practices who also offer similar services. In the next three years, it is expected that the number of clinics will double with tens of millions entering into their system (Pollack, Gidengil, & Mehrotra 2010). This is a concern to health care leaders that are fsorcing them to find an alternative of offering convenient ways to their patients. ACHE Ethical Policy Statements present the organization’s position on ethical issues on health care. In additional these statements suggest a standard behaviour that healthcare administrators should uphold in enhancing the quality of care and creating an effective, equitable and efficient healthcare delivery system (Weinick, Burns & Mehrotra 2010).
HMA spent millions of dollar in blocking St. Dominic Hospital from constructing a hospital in Canton arguing that Madison County is incapable of supporting two hospitals due to the population numbers and the condition set by Health Department in that state. Coincidentally, HMA unveiled plan to construct another hospital in Canton, contradicting HMA mission in blocking St. Dominic entry in the county (Silva, Sibbald, Connolly & Singer 2008). There is a possibility that BCBS withheld payment to HMA after the association plan to build another hospital in consideration of the certificate of needs issued by state health department. If the construction of St. Dominic hospital were allowed in the area where most of the residents have commercial insurance, HMA could be competing in health care provision. The blocking uphold the ethical issues that CON stresses (Murray & Holmes 2009).
Conclusion
HMA being a monopolist in healthcare provision in the county retain the prices of care high. This expense should be passed on to the insurance firms as it is the obligation of the company to cover medical bills on its clients. This encourages people service services in a high amount, thus promoting consumerism (Claesson 2011).
Reference
Claesson, A. L. (2011). Consumerism and Ethics. Shortell and Kaluzny's Health Care Management: Organization, Design, and Behavior, 399
Mehrotra, A., Liu, H., Adams, J. L., Wang, M. C., Lave, J. R., Thygeson, N. M., & McGlynn, E. A. (2009). Comparing costs and quality of care at retail clinics with that of other medical settings for 3 common illnesses. Annals of Internal Medicine, 151(5), 321- 328.
Murray, S. J., & Holmes, D. (Eds.). (2009). Critical Interventions in the Ethics of Healthcare: Challenging the Principle of Autonomy in Biotehics. Ashgate Publishing.
Pollack, C. E., Gidengil, C., & Mehrotra, A. (2010). The growth of retail clinics and the medical home: two trends in concert or in conflict? Health Affairs, 29(5), 998-1003.
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Silva, D. S., Gibson, J. L., Sibbald, R., Connolly, E., & Singer, P. A. (2008). Clinical ethicists’ perspectives on organisational ethics in healthcare organisations. Journal of medical ethics, 34(5), 320-323.
Weinick, R. M., Burns, R. M., & Mehrotra, A. (2010). Many emergency department visits could be managed at urgent care centers and retail clinics. Health Affairs, 29(9), 1630- 1636.
