Introduction
Unexpected medical expenses are very common, and they are frustrating when they happen. These medical requirements have to be met, and this necessitates the need to have an insurance cover. The US federal government offers health insurance programs called Medicare and Medicaid that cater for the financial burden for aged and poor citizens respectively (Rowland & Lyons, 1996). A hospital that accepts Medicare or Medicaid as pay sources is very sensitive to its clients. Furthermore, a hospital should satisfy its customers fully and reduce the cost of medical services for them (Rowland & Lyons, 1996). This paper analyzes quality initiatives that increase patient satisfaction and potentially reduce healthcare cost. It then evaluates the importance of accepting Medicare or Medicaid as potential pay sources for an urgent care center.
Quality Initiatives That Increase Patient Satisfaction and Reduce Healthcare Cost
The quality of healthcare is important and should be treated seriously. It should enhance the satisfaction of the patients and other customers. Even as the quality of the care is being increased and customers being satisfied, it is important to consider the cost of the medical services (Whelan & Russell, 2010). Essentially, the cost of services in an urgent healthcare center is increased due to increased costs of operation. Lowering these costs would reduce the cost of services. The following are ways to reduce healthcare cost while promoting quality and patient satisfaction.
Reducing preventable medical errors
Medical errors lower the quality of healthcare and increase the cost of medical services (Whelan & Russell, 2010). For example, between 2004 and 2009, around 238,337 deaths that could have been prevented occurred in the US and this cost the nation around $8.8 billion. In a private sector, when such a cost incurred, the price of services is raised to cater for it. Limiting such errors would go a big way in reducing cost and at the same time keeping the quality at a higher level (Whelan & Russell, 2010). A good example of avoiding medical errors is to have a computerized prescription system. Promoting coordinated quality care would also assist in reducing cases of medical errors.
Preventing hospital-acquired infections
When patients or other people visit a hospital, they may end up getting a new disease from the hospital. This has been known to be a cause of preventable deaths. Preventing these types of infections from occurring would reduce the cost of operation and hence the cost of services (Whelan & Russell, 2010). In hospitals in Michigan, many lives were saved when measures were taken to reduce hospital-acquired infections. Consequently, around $200 million was saved (Whelan & Russell, 2010). In an urgent care center, frequent hand washing, use of antiseptics and making sure that all procedures are conducted in a sterile environment helps to reduce hospital-acquired infections.
Reducing wastage of resources and time
Wastage in a hospital setting results in increased the cost of operation. This will then result in increased cost of services (Whelan & Russell, 2010). Wastage should be avoided by all means possible. If the first doctor of a patient ordered a given test, it is not necessary for other doctors that the patient sees to order the same test. They should rely on the initial test results unless it is necessary. This would save time and resources.
Accepting Medicare or Medicaid as Potential Pay Sources
Medicare assists elderly people in paying their medical bills while Medicaid helps poor Americans settles the cost of medical services (Rowland & Lyons, 1996). They are very important programs in the role of patients’ treatment and to satisfy clients, a hospital should be in a position to accept these services. The urgent care center accepts Medicare or Medicaid as potential pay sources. This is the position of the care center. An example of a situation where the center accepted these services is when an elderly person came for an urgent treatment following an accident. The center willingly accepted the patient and treated him immediately. Another example was when a young person with a disability came to our center and was insured with the Medicare program, and was attended to. As for other insurance policies, very few are accepted, but a good number of them is acceptable at the care center.
Conclusion
Offering quality healthcare is very important as it makes customers feel safe and satisfied. Reducing cost for treatment and other medical services ensures that the patients can afford them. Insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid assist the citizens to afford quality medical services. Hospitals and care centers should accept this pay sources.
References
Rowland, D., & Lyons, B. (1996). Medicare, Medicaid, and the elderly poor. Health Care Financing Review, 18(2), 61-85
Whelan, E.-M., & Russell, L. (2010). Better health care at lower costs why health care reform will drive better models of health care delivery. Retrieved from https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2010/03/pdf/health_delivery.pdf
