The passing of the new law, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has provided new opportunities and direction for the troubled healthcare industry. In this instance, the healthcare industry has been plagued by the continuous increase in healthcare costs while at the same time, affected the quality of healthcare offered to individuals (Emanuel, 2015). The most vulnerable groups in the society comprised of the elderly and the poor, are the most affected by these adversities. Therefore, the PPACA has been seen as the right step in the right direction in the industry. In this instance, the provisions as provided by the new law provide opportunities that Betheus Medical Centre can exploit to its advantage, as well as to that of the population they serve.
Betheus Medical Centre is a health institution that was established by a team comprising of two medical doctors and a nurse. The majority of individuals in the population they serve are the elderly and of diverse ethnic backgrounds. These groups represent the ideal categories targeted by the new PPACA law. The medical practitioners at the health centre frequently witness situations in which those who cannot afford health insurance receiving inadequate care. These situations are mostly common among those from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. In this case, the community is comprised of mostly African-American and Hispanic population and who are affected by the wanting financial situation.
The elderly often succumb to various illnesses as a result of age-related effects. As such, this group requires adequate medical attention to avert further deterioration of their medical conditions. Unfortunately, under the present system, the lack of attention focused medical care has led to rehospitalizations, leading to increase in related healthcare costs, an aspect that could have been avoided with the provision of quality care. For this reason, the PPACA once implemented will allow Betheus Medical Centre the opportunity to provide quality care, at reduced costs, as well as improve accessibility to health services.
In this regard, the PPACA proposes to several solutions as part of its three main objectives. In the first instance, the Act proposes to reduce health care costs. Therefore, Betheus Medical Centre can achieve this aim by implementing the aspect of Continuity of Care. In this case, the medical team can provide continuous quality service over a long period of time. Furthermore, this will allow the physicians to collaborate with their patients in a more direct way to achieve the required aim. In this regard, the centre will provide ongoing medical care thereby cultivating a professional and engaged relationship with their patients (Jones, 2013).
In addition, this approach will offset potential costs incurred from illnesses. This situation is as a result of the disconnection that often occurs as a result of inadequate knowledge about a patient’s health history. In this regard, the Affordable Care Act will facilitate the cultivation of confidence by the patient in the medical practitioner. In this instance, the setting which Betheus Medical Center operates in will reap potential benefits from the implementation of the expected health care reforms. This situation is as a result of the diversity in communities that is often laced with distrust in government systems. As such, having a dependable and available medical practitioner in the community instills confidence and trust, hence improves the relationship between the patient and the health practitioner.
Additionally, through Continuity of Care, medical practitioners at Betheus Medical Center will be able to facilitate reduced medical costs for patients as this approach will provide for early diagnosing of illnesses before they develop to advanced levels. Continuous care also overcomes the fragmentation aspect of the industry as it is patient-centric and adopts a team-based approach. Therefore, it generally improves the quality of care and enhances patient safety in the industry.
As provided in the PPACA, Betheus Medical Center can also take into consideration medical homes in the quest to provide quality care at reduced costs to patients. In this regards, as in the case of Continuity of Care, the medical home model is a patient-focused and integrated approach that is focused on providing quality care on a cost-effective basis (Gruber and Newquist, 2011). In this regard, the approach provides for medical practitioners and care teams to go to where the clients are, irrespective of the conditions. The Betheus Medical Center can provide quality patient care that is comprehensive, in that the providers will provide adequate care based on the individual physical and mental needs of the patient. In addition, the aspect of medical homes introduces the concept of accessibility in that patients can access services without spending long waiting durations and are also able to have after-hours care, an aspect facilitated by health IT innovations and both electronic and phone communication. In order to provide quality care to patients, Betheus Medical Centre can implement an organized set up to integrate healthcare across a broad range of services comprising of specialty care, community service, and hospitals and home health care.
Conclusively, the implementation of the recommended Affordable Care Act will make health care accessible and cost-effective for patients. As such, Betheus Medical Center can gain from the reforms as proposed in the act, and aim to create convenience, cost-effective solutions, and quality care to patients within the community the medical center operates in.
References
Emanuel, E. J. (2015). Reinventing American health care. New York: PublicAffairs Publications.
Gruber, J., & Newquist, H. P. (2011). Health care reform: What it is, why it's necessary, how it works. New York: Hill and Wang.
Jones, D. A. (2013). The simple reader's guide to understanding the affordable care act (ACA) health care reform. Bloomington: Abbott Press.
