Taking the current meteoric and disturbing rise of lifestyle and chronic diseases into account, the shift from treatment diseases to chronic diseases will be a significant issue in the delivery of healthcare. Diseases and conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental disorders, heart disease, pulmonary conditions, and stroke are projected to see a 42% rise by the year 2013. Chronic diseases cause about 60% of deaths worldwide. Most developed countries in the world are facing aging populations, and this will also affect the health delivery system because older people are more likely to be affected by chronic diseases. Older people are also more likely to be hospitalized and require more attention than younger people. Older people are also afflicted with particular conditions and ailments, for example, benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer among men. The rise of chronic diseases will be the top issue that will impact healthcare delivery.
Currently, the United States spends around 86% of all healthcare costs on chronic disease. Chronic diseases degrade the quality of life of individuals, are the leading cause of death in the U.S and are ultimately costly to treat and manage. However, chronic diseases are largely preventable. The high cost, both in finances and the general quality of life, will cause healthcare delivery in the future to emphasize more on prevention than treatment. Drug resistance is a disturbing growing trend that makes prevention rather than treatment more reasonable. However, high-quality care for all is required in order for the diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic revolution in healthcare delivery to occur.
Patient-focused care includes interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals in the healthcare delivery field. It also includes using the clinical and non-clinical staff more effectively to improve the patient’s experience. The patient perceives job satisfaction and quality care. Patient-focused care emphasizes on a multidisciplinary and cross-trained team of caregivers. The less the direct contact between the staff, the more the patient gets personalized care. In the current healthcare delivery model, the various departments and service that make up a healthcare center are the centers of focus, rather than the patient. Although patient-focused care delivery is a growing trend, the model is not yet widely in use in health institutions. The current healthcare delivery model in wide use is centralized, with different services and departments, such as medical records, laboratory, pharmacy and admitting/discharge functioning autonomously. Inter-departmental bureaucracy slows the service down and generally makes it inefficient.
The Affordable Care Act comprises of The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act and the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act. These acts are designed to transform the healthcare delivery system by reducing healthcare costs, the experience of individuals and the general health of the wider population. The Affordable Care Act emphasizes on quality care delivery through payment system that rewards better care rather than just more care. The Act has made the current health delivery system better through increased coordination, efficiency, patient and staff satisfaction and information technology. The Act as reduced healthcare delivery costs. In the United States, as in most parts of the world, the quality of healthcare is not limited by poverty or clinical failure but rather by the delivery. The Affordable Care Act, therefore, improves the delivery system.
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