Health Care System in the USA

National Health Service in the UK

1. When was the National Health Service created and what kinds of service does it provide to the UK citizens?

The National Health Service is the collective name given to the four public health services of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 1948 the National Health Service was established. It was provide health care for all citizens, based on need, not the ability to pay.

2. What way is the NHS funded and managed?

The NHS is funded by the taxpayer and managed by a government department, the Department of Health, which sets overall policy on health issues.

Speak on the social protection of patient before the creation of NHS if it existed.

Before the National Health Service was created in 1948, patients were generally required to pay for their health care. Free treatment had been sometimes available from teaching hospitals and charity hospitals. In 1911 the National Insurance Act granted all workers of 16 years or over free medical coverage as well as unemployment benefits.

4. What kinds of health care are charged for? Is any kind of service free of charge? Analyze the drug expenses coverage.

Ambulance services, mental health, and ancillary services such as physical and occupational therapy, in-home and in-clinic nursing, and certain care for the sick elderly in nursing homes are free of charge. They are financed from the NHS budget. In general, these and other types of health services can be charged.

Patients in England of working age pay a fixed price (presently £ 7) for each drug prescribed regardless of the amount of drug prescribed or the cost to the pharmacy. The pharmacy invoices the cost of the drugs to the NHS. Patients under 16 years old (19 years if still in fulltime education) or over 59 years will get the drug for free.

5. What are the components of the NHS? Describe the functioning and responsibilities of each component.

The core component of health service is the General Practitioners. GPs are mostly private doctors that choose to contract with the NHS to provide services to patients. GPs can refer their patients to a hospital for more specialized services and for surgery. GP referrals are needed to see any hospital specialist.

Other components of NHS are ambulance services, mental health, and ancillary services such as physical and occupational therapy, in-home and in-clinic nursing, and certain care for the sick elderly in nursing homes.

Health Care System in the USA

6. How do people pay for health care in the USA? What are Medicare and Medicaid?

The United States have the most expensive health care system in the world in dollars per capita and at the same time it is the only wealthy industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care. Most of the population has private health insurance. Approximately 75 per cent of the population has their health insurance, life insurance, disability protection and retirement benefits at their place of employment.

The great cost of medical care in the country and a great number of people who could not pay for it had forced the federal government to develop two programs — Medicaid and Medicare. Medicaid, started in 1966, is a federal-state program providing free medical care for the poor and aged, for the blind and dependent children. Medicare, started in 1967, is a federal program providing free or discounted medical care for aged Americans over 65.

7. What are the agencies of the Public Health Service and what functions do they perform?

The agencies of the Public Health Service in the USA are:
The Health Administration, which regulates health care to people;
The Food and Drug Administration, which certifies the safety of food, effectiveness of drugs and medical products;
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which prevent diseases, premature death and disability;
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which regulates hazardous spills of toxic substances.

8. What are the problems of health care system in the USA? What are the emerging health problems of the American population?

Gaps in access to and quality of care for large segments of population remain the major weakness of the US health care system. It also has great difficulties adapting to emerging health problems such as AIDS, medical care of mental patients, and to the needs of growing segments of population — the elderly, single parent families, and cultural, ethnic and racial minorities.

9. What are the challenges confronting the healthcare?

The US health care system has five major challenges confronting. The most fundamental is how to shift from providing health care to producing health. Housing, minimum decent income, food, education, good social and physical environment must reach all, including the most vulnerable groups of population. The next challenge is to focus on providing cost-effective information systems which can monitor the costs and effectiveness of health services. The third is to control health care expenditures. The fourth is to cope with resistance to fundamental changes from within the health care sector. The United States are also challenged to transfer the resources liberated from health care to other sectors that can contribute to health.

Hospitals

10. What types of medical institutions are there in the communities? Define them.

The most familiar health care institution is the hospital. Hospitals provide care for the sick and injured. The emergency units in hospitals are also becoming more important as all-purpose treatment centers. Other institutions provide health care in addition to hospitals. Nursing (or convalescent) homes provide care for the sick and for convalescing patients. They are becoming increasingly popular, particularly for the elderly, prenatal clinics for pregnant woman, well-baby clinics for new mothers and their babies, and mental health clinics for those who need periodic psychiatric attention, among others.

11. What is the difference between general and specialized hospitals? What conditions may be managed in there types of hospitals?

There are many different kinds of hospitals. These hospitals provide a variety of services, including general and specialized medicine (therapy, cardiology, gastroenterology, urology, neurology, traumatology and orthopedics, gynecology, etc.), general and specialized surgery, and obstetrics, to meet the general medical needs of the community. Patients with acute problems stay there for only a short term, seven days on the average. Other hospitals provide more specialized care. Some treat patients with chronic illness, such as tuberculosis, requiring long-term care, or patients of one age group, like children. Specialty hospitals also include rehabilitation and psychiatric ones.

12. What are the types of hospitals according to the means of their financing support?

Hospitals can also be categorized by their means of financial support. Most hospitals in the world are operated and financed by the government of their country. Other hospitals are private, non-profit institutions, known as voluntary hospitals. The primary mission of such hospitals is to benefit the community in which they are located. Proprietary or investor-owned hospitals are run to make a profit.

13. What hospital staff members do you know? What are their duties and responsibilities?

There is a great number of staff works in hospitals nowadays. For example:

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 2872