Integrated Health System
Nowadays, the integration of health services has been a common issue. The government has been taking action on what would be the best option for its constituents. It is also inevitable for a country to uphold a new system of health services to accommodate diverse populations. Apart from that there are also existing problems in the health care industry that needs to be addressed. These are the rising costs of healthcare commodities, troublesome variation of quality care, diversified customers and the concern for the value of investment.
The limiting factor to a successful health industry is not the lack of technology or diversity, rather the lack of integrating principle. Hence, the existence of integrated health system is needed. This would deliver a cost effective care than the current provisions that we have now.
An integrated health system is a network of organizations that can provide a synchronized continuum of healthcare services. This system is also held accountable for the outcomes as well as the health status of the people covered by the system. Integration could also be defined as a whole package. This could mean that a specific packaged health care system has been designed for a specific population. Secondly, integrated health system could also be defined as a one stop shop. For example, the prevention of a certain disease as well as the program related to it, cure and treatment, insurances and benefits and other medical facilities that could be used is integrated into one cycle flow (Shortell, 2016).
Integrated health services could also be referred to multiple service point deliveries. It is much the same as a one stop shop but not limited to one area. This shall mean that the integrative system of a certain facility for healthcare is transmitted to another satellite facility. Examples are multipurpose clinics that have service integration for health services. The system is not only limited to cross over of services but also the vertical integration of a certain healthcare organization to others as well.
The unified meaning of an integrated health system is that the organization and proper management of healthcare services so that people could get the proper attention they need, when the situation calls for it. Additionally, it would also mean that the people will have easy access to the facility and can have their desired type of care regardless of the cost.
For the recipients of this system this would mean that the system will give them smooth process in achieving their healthcare needs. Moreover, the providers will also benefit to this integrated health system. This will allow the providers to separate the technical services from the managerial support systems. They can have organized and properly accommodated number of workers.
Unique Components of IHS
One good example of an Integrated Health System would be that of state of the art information systems. This is when the health care industry integrates the usage of computerized support that allows the effective data managing and sources allocation. Compared to the conventional healthcare system, it would still be operated on a manual level. Consumers would need to line up to check for their records and even line up to get priority numbers. The usage of information system allows the consumers to have an access of their personal details on a remote manner as well as the provider. This would give them the ease of giving out resources vice versa. Electronic health records would allow the providers to check the status of the customer based on their insurance payments (Suter, 2009). Additionally, the facility can also see the previous cause of admission for the admission of the customer. This is a cost-effective way of attending to the customer rather than doing it manually. The information system shall also allow the system wide registration for patients as well as appointment set-ups for them.
Previous poor technology systems would also be costly in the long run for the service provider. It would give them the hassle of revamping the system to just have the properties of an integrated healthcare system. Other perks of the IHS would be the remote access to service providers. Customers can contact and check their providers online. Additionally, some healthcare companies have a customer hotline that could directly assist the customer in finding the nearest healthcare provider. One of these healthcare organizations are the BlueShield of California and Kaiser Permanente.
Conclusion
Integrated Health System is the common solution to diverse problem in health care. The lack of proper access to medical facilities is still existent nowadays. However, due to the government’s reinforcement of the healthcare law the people are now oblige to get signed on a specific healthcare company. Additionally, the consumer can have an access to government aided healthcare providers. This would give them the opportunity to afford the basic commodity of health. The Integrated Health System simplifies the scattered work of a medical facility. From records, resources, staffing as well as insurances has been covered by Integrated Health System. The only remaining problem is on how the system could be applied on every part of the state. It is inevitable that there are also parts of the state that is yet to be covered by the IHS. Thus, this is also a call to the government. Lastly, the effectiveness of IHS must also be assessed according to existing related literatures. Nevertheless, the system offers a solution to the major problems of healthcare system.
References
Shortell, S. (2016). Integrated Health System: Promise and Performance. Retrieved from http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/hcdp/readings/Integrated%20Health%20Systems%20-%20Promise%20and%20Performance.pdf
Suter, S. (2009, October 13). Ten Key Principles for Successful Health Systems Integration. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004930/
