Healthcare is a wide field and it has so many regulations. The regulations come from government agencies and private institutions. An efficient healthcare system that functions smoothly ensures that the citizens get the best. All fields of the healthcare is overseen by one regulatory body or another and other cases several bodies regulate one field. The nature of health care necessitates that regulation must exist. Every aspect of the healthcare is under one form or other regulations. Examples include mechanisms to control professionals who provide care, the institutions in which healthcare is provided, the drugs and tools used in care and the insurance that cover it. Oversight is important because factors important as health and life are involved. The healthcare regulations originate and enforced by all levels of the government: the federal, the state and the local government. There also exist private organizations that regulate health care in America. One of the primary roles of American government is to protect its citizens. All the healthcare related regulations, rules and processes function towards fulfillment of this function of protecting its citizens. Some healthcare providers are capable of harming the public if given the opportunity. This may be due to action or inaction.
The healthcare regulation plays a major role in the healthcare industry and in the health care insurance coverage. There are many regulatory bodies and the Department of Health and Human Services protects the citizens from health risks and provides programs for the citizens at every level. The regulatory body that oversees most of the regulations directly related to the healthcare system is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The rules clarify definitions, benefits, eligibility, authority and standards in the healthcare system. The development of these laws revolves around the existing law and they come with the continuous involvement and the input of medical professionals, consumers, third party payers and special interest groups. The formation of the rules is a long process and it usually takes time. It follows a defined process.
The healthcare system has many professions and each of the professions has an organization that fights of its interests. The professions in this field include the following: dentists, doctors, nurses, medical technicians, nursing home administrators, health therapists and psychologists (Niles, 2011). The professions require them to have licenses to operate. To get the licenses they must meet some requirements by the government. The various levels of government have different requirements and this makes the process long. The long processes and many requirements make the healthcare providers to raise the costs of services. The patient is the receiver of the costs.
The abuses leading to regulation of healthcare system result from criminal deception and falsehood. The presence of unqualified, criminal, abusive and incapacitated doctors created a need for monitoring and licensure. The government scrutinizes every aspect of the healthcare system and this becomes a routine. All aspects of the clinical behavior are under public scrutiny. There are many rules that regulate all the clinical and nursing practices. These rules are many and create operating inefficiencies that leads to little benefits that the regulatory bodies might have. The healthcare regulations shape the nature, quality and the safety of the health system and all the professionals within it.
These regulations on healthcare system have impacts on the delivery of healthcare to the citizens of America. The web of rules and regulations actually conflict each other in the process of implementation. They function in all levels of the governments of America. The impact on hospitals has led to the deterioration of quality of service. The consistency of quality has lost and this leads to loss of many lives that are preventable. Recent research on social aspects of medical care show reveals disparities in quality of medical care received by different ethnic, racial and economic groups. The cost of healthcare increases rapidly that even the inflation ratemaking patients to have limited access to medical care. The efficiency of delivery of the healthcare is missing.
Regulations in most cases effect on the interests of people in many ways. The rejection or suspension of medical license, for example limits the physicians ability to make a living out of his profession. The rejection of a pharmaceutical application for approval of a new drug denies it the chance to make money. Fines imposed on violators take money from the alleged victims.
The healthcare industry currently has regulations on the health information privacy. The Health Insurance and Accountability Act provides that protect individuals medical records and other health information and it applies to healthcare clearinghouses, healthcare plans and health providers. The rules demands appropriate measures to protect the privacy of personal health information and it also conditions and limits on the uses of the information. It provides conditions of disclosure of the personal health information and authorization of the patient must happen (Field, 2007). The regulation gives the patient the right over their health information. It offers the patient a right to examine the medical records and even have copies of their health records. The patient has the right of requesting for corrections on the medical records. The Obama administration has moved to implement health care laws that make it illegal for any insurance company to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.
The regulation provides for affordable health care to all people. This avoids financial discrimination in access to medical facilities. The people with disability for example a person confined in in a wheelchair has a challenge to enter a hospital that has staircases at the entrance. The restrooms might not allow the use of wheelchairs; the corridors might not allow the disabled to navigate with the wheelchair (Lieber & McConnell, 2012). A person living with HIV can face discrimination by not getting employment. To address these issues Americans with Disabilities Acts prohibits any form of discrimination basing on the abilities of a person.
The healthcare industry of America grows all the time. Technology used in healthcare advances every year but millions of Americans continue to face problems with getting medical access. The causes of these problems are many. The unemployment rate, government policies, the rapid population growth and the results of technological advances are some of the reasons associated with problems facing healthcare industry. The problems facing the American healthcare system makes the government find ways to deliver quality and affordable healthcare to its citizens.
References
Field, R. I. (2007). Health care regulation in America: Complexity, confrontation, and compromise. New York: Oxford University Press..
Liebler, J. G., & McConnell, C. R. (2012). Management principles for health professionals. Sudbury, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Niles, N. J. (2011). Basics of the U.S. health care system. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
