Healthcare cost and quality

“It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life-the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.”

Hubert H. Humphrey

Unit Outcomes:

3. Compare the benefits & limitations of the major forms of reimbursement on the delivery of healthcare services.

4. Discuss the impact of economic factors on the quality of patient care.

Assignment Description: In this assignment, students will complete an internet activity to examine concepts of healthcare quality and cost.

Assignment Directions: (Please Note: This activity takes the place of the 3-hour class that all hybrid students attend. It is expected that this activity will take the same amount of time that the class would.)

Participate in the following internet activity. Then answer the following questions.

1. Read the following articles (note if the links do not work, copy/paste them into your browser):

a) U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective 2019: Link (Links to an external site.) https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2019 (Links to an external site.)

b) Quality of Care: In-Depth https://www.rand.org/health-care/key-topics/quality-of-care/in-depth.html (Links to an external site.)

2. Answer the Following Questions by Friday

***Let’s talk about the differences between quality and cost.

• Summarize what you learned about the cost of Healthcare in the U.S. in contrast to other comparable countries. Were you surprised by what you found?

• Summarize what you learned about the quality of Healthcare in the U.S. in contrast to other comparable countries. Were you surprised by what you found?

• Do you think that the U.S. could improve its outcomes/quality and at the same time decrease the costs? How?

• How could the financial aspects of healthcare affect you as a nurse? How about patient care? Give examples of each.

References:

The Commonwealth Fund (2019). U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective 2019: Higher Spending, Worse Outcomes? https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issu…

Rand Health Care. (n.d.). Quality of Care: In-Depth. https://www.rand.org/health-care/key-topics/qualit…