...The Reforming of Health Care as it Pertains to Prescription Drugs in the United States HCS/440 08/05/2013 Professor Michele Burka, MBA The Reforming of Health Care as it Pertains to Prescription Drugs in the United States The Problem America stands on the precipice of a new health epidemic; prescription drugs are the new face of concern for the average American citizen.; cost, shortages, and abuse can often be found on any given day in print, online, or more commonly, social networking sites. As technology continues to advance, so too does the ability to procure medications for 90% of what the body needs to maintain optimal health. In addition to this, agenda pushing doctors, contractual obligations to pharmaceutical manufacturers, and drug reps have created a health care atmosphere where it is almost impossible to walk into a physician’s office for an annual health screening without leaving with a handful of questionable ‘needed’ prescriptions. Doctors are prescribing more medications than ever before seen. This is in fact creating more prescription related abuse. With this new availability comes the responsibility of ensuring those receiving are adequately informed of consequences, and potential addiction issues. All too often, a consumer seeks advice from a healthcare provider and does not self-educate on the medication received. Yes, medical staff, especially the prescribing individual has a personal and professional responsibility to the consumer to inform...
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...Generic Prescription Drug Costs Prescription drugs have been causing problems in the United States for a very long time. Pharmaceutical companies are one of the largest profiting global industries. It was in 2009 when drug shortages increased with numbers reaching what many have termed crisis level which raised all prices of generic prescription drugs significantly (Fox, Sweet, & Jensen, 2014). This increase was and still is leaving patients with a life threatening decision; either go on paying for their prescriptions which they cannot afford or stop their treatment all together and risk their illness progressing and leading to possible death. Some have chosen to end their treatment altogether, while other patients have confessed to taking dangerous measures to ensure their refills last longer like cutting their pills in half or skipping doses. The United States drug manufacturers are raising prices endlessly without regulation. Instead of generic brand medication being affordable, they are creating their own monopolies and setting their prices just as competitively as name brands. Instead of buying and stocking manufacturers with raw materials from within the United States, they source raw materials from overseas creating delays and a huge shortage in raw materials has surfaced. Instead of keeping the FDA in the loop as to what is going on in the production process, manufacturers wait until the very last minute to report a problem which goes against all rules, regulations...
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...Scarce Resources Article Nurses depend on a variety of resources every day that affect patient care. Staffing issues and supply shortages are sometimes daily battles. A growing concern is drug shortages to hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices. Drug shortages can affect drug therapy, postpone medical procedures, and result in medication errors. An article published in the American Journal of Nursing in November 2011 discussed the national impact of the drug shortage on health systems. Since 1996 the problem of drug shortages has steady increased. As of 2011 there were 232 drugs on the national drug shortage list. “The areas most commonly reported shortages were surgery and anesthesia, emergency care, cardiovascular care, gastrointestinal and nutritional care, and pain management. Thirty-five percent of hospitals reported that the shortages had resulted in adverse outcomes” (Carter, 2011, p. 14). One specific example is the propofol shortage. Propofol is used for sedation during procedures and ventilated patients. Alternative medications are more difficult to titrate resulting in under or over sedation (Carter, 2011). There are several factors that contribute to the national drug shortage. The lack of available raw or bulk materials has a significant impact on drug shortages. “Raw material shortage can result from a number of factors, including a sole source manufacturer that ceases operation, suboptimal quality of the raw material, and wars that disrupts importation”...
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...are some issues that affect the health care industry negatively and positively. There issues with the pharmaceutical companies, the drugs pricing in America, the impact of different medical career trends, why has the numbers for health care professionals decline over the years, the effect of the different health care policy and what kind of development need to help fix this already crumbling health care industry. There have out cried from the public to congress and health care professionals to help elevate this issue from the American people suffering. There have been little or no definite and concrete solution on their part and the American people are suffering the consequences of high health care bills. This has led to stress on the pharmaceuticals companies all across the United States. The pharmaceutical market is looking forward to the by the year 2020 the United Sates pharmaceutical sales will double fifth globally. The issue with increase of chronic disease will increase in the develop world as it is the under develop world, if there is no effort to improve the health care system. Some of the example is the rising cost of drugs on the American people. The United States people pay a high cost on drugs than any other develop country. This one of the injustice in the health Care industry has must be taken care of in the future to come. The United States forbid the selling of drugs or important it in the United Sates even if that drug has met the FDA requirement of be...
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...Practice Nurses In order to meet the growing demand for primary care, nurse practitioners need prescriptive authority to provide quality, safe, and cost-effective healthcare to patients. The development of nurse practitioners, plus physician shortages in primary care, leads to an increasing need for nurse practitioners and access to health care. However, nurse practitioners currently face prescription regulations for controlled substances, which limits their scope of practice. The regulation of nurse practitioners prescribing controlled substances diminishes comprehensive health care services by increasing the wait time for patients and liability claims for physicians. The number of nurse practitioners continues to expand and their roles often overlap with those of the physician to meet the shortages of primary care. History of APRN and efforts to gain Prescriptive Authority In rural areas there was a rising demand for primary care services, which lead to the development of the nurse practitioner profession. Since physicians were unable to meet this demand, nurses stepped in and expanded their roles to meet the needs of individuals and families. Physicians began collaborating and mentoring with nurses who had clinical experience in the late 1950s and early 1960s (Medscape). The increased specialization of medicine led to a wide number of physicians out of primary care, which caused a primary physician shortage and left rural areas underserved (Medscape). In 1965, Loretta...
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...demographics, needs, trends, and growth. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are all listed for Walgreen’s and is also compared to some of their competitors. I looked into the macro-markets for Walgreen’s and also the target markets to wrap the entire marketing plan up. I found that Walgreen’s is a very successful company and has done well with their research as far as their customers go. Situation Analysis Market Summary Market Demographics- The market demographics for retail pharmacy are very broad. The market includes all age groups from newborn babies to seniors. The demographics also include all races and genders as well as individuals of all income levels. There are long-term care patients and short-term care patients. There are patients who need health tests, help with choosing an insurance plan, immunization and travel consultations and so much more. Market Needs- The market needs for retail pharmacies are selection, accessibility, customer service, and pricing. Pharmacies already offer a wide range of medication options, Walgreen’s ensures that they have all options to suit all different customers needs. Products are also distributed through their conveniently located storefronts, or can be shipped throughout the world. Customer service is also vey important as well as meeting all...
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...One important issue affecting hospitals is the increased cost of drugs. According to American Health Association (2016), in 2015 the total spending on prescription drugs surpassed $457 billion and the cost of some drugs increased 3,600% over two years. This creates a difficult financial situation, especially for hospitals because they are the major purchasers. Therefore, the patient’s ability to access drugs therapy and the care provided in the hospital gets compromised. As a consequence of government’s reimbursement shortages and price increases on drugs, the private sector, is seeking for options to reduce the cost. The hospitals are having trouble absorbing the shortfalls on inpatients beneficiaries of Medicare which payments are far behind...
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...makes a good health care system? A health care system is an organization consisting of individuals and associations delivering health requirements and services towards the society. These health care systems differ in a large variety around the world as certain nation meets a different necessity. In a good health care system, factors such as financial, technological and policies are important and greatly affect the structure of the system. An important role of financial in the health care system is the funds provided by authorities. Funds supported by the government for public hospitals benefits the system where patients are provided with sufficient sickbeds, nurses, emergency wards, ambulance vehicles and food. These subsidies allow hospitals to prevent over flowing of patients left unattended during emergency and casual consultation times. In most general hospitals, subsidised funds allow hospital authorities to hire more nurses which increase the efficiency of patients being tended and decrease the workload on the doctors (Palmer and Short, 2010). Furthermore, the funds are greatly beneficial towards the practices of specialised doctors in certain types of patients such as cancer and other complicated diseases. In a health care system, technological factors are required to improve the quality of resources provided to patients and assist greatly in medical research departments. In most countries, health practitioners increased the adoption of Health Information Technology...
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...Health Care Spending Does one know about health care spending and heath care expenditure in the United States? Health Care spending in the United States comes from several sources such as physician service, patient treatment, prescription drug treatment, administration cost, Medicare, Medicaid and hospital spending, These sources are just a very few of the sources of spending on healthcare in the United States. On March 23, 2010 President Obama passed the healthcare reform bill to help citizens with receiving affordable healthcare. Even though health care spending has improved over the years, health care is something that everyone needs and there is a possibility that this could change over the years to come. According to Santiago (2009), the goal of healthcare reform is to make healthcare more accessible and available to American citizens. Currently, the national health care expenditures are at a struggle but yet continue to grow. According to Foreman (2011) National health expenditures reached $2.1 trillion in 2006, after further revisions and a 6.7% increase from the previous year. This translated into $7,026 per person and 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Foreman, 2011). These expenditures include but are not limited to those sources such as physician service, patient treatment, prescription drug treatment, administration cost, Medicare, Medicaid and hospital spending. The Obama Reform is a reform that has been transmitted to make healthcare available...
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...Facing Health Care in the United States Battina HSA 500 December 11, 2010 Identify and describe at least three of the most difficult issues facing health care in the United States today. Three of the most difficult issues facing health care in the United States today are the uninsured and the disenfranchised, the future of the pharmaceutical industry and the shortage of health care personnel. According to Williams and Torrens (2010), there are an estimated 50 million people which includes children that are uninsured. The lack of access to care leads to the compromise of the quality of care, especially for the uninsured. A recent study of the uninsured has shown that they receive only about half as much care as people who are continuously insured. Several studies have shown that when they have a serious disease the diagnosis is not received promptly, nor do they get a more innovative and expensive treatment, according to Slutsky (2007), The pharmaceutical industry issues are endless. As much as the government tries to contain and develop the guidelines for the production of what can improve and extend life lines the market controls pricing , which varies internationally. Of the underinsured, there are the Medicare beneficiaries who cannot afford prescription drugs or long term care services due to lack of coverage. The more innovative and experimental drugs are too expensive and not covered by Medicare or Medicaid. One of the major challenges that health care...
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...percent in 2015 and 18.2 percent in 2025. Although the aging of the baby-boom generation is a key factor in the aging of the population as a whole, increasing life expectancy is also important” (para. 2). To be more specific the aging population in Ohio is expected to go from 13 percent to 20 percent over the next thirty years (ohio.gov, 2010). The increased amount of people that are age 65 and older will lead to increased healthcare costs. A person's life expectancy is longer and that also increases the incidents of chronic diseases, disability, and the need for long-term healthcare. There will be an increased need for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers, especially those that specialize in various chronic diseases. Inpatient care as well as outpatient services for...
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...Nursing is a dynamic profession and life long learning is essential for nurses to stay current with the increased complexity of the healthcare needs of today and into the future.In other words, the needs of our patients are changing, as we must change in order to be prepared to better serve that need. Nursing has a long history of formal education which moved out of hospitals and into colleges and universities early last century. The associate degree level of nursing was developed out of a need to produce nurses in response to a shortage during and following World War II. It was a proposed as a temporary solution to a shortage to a shortage but was not intended to replace the professional level of nursing education. The ADN program require about 2 yrs for the student to complete. The Adn nurses are associate degree in nursing, ADN nurses have clinical skills and hands on basic skills but they lack both management and leadership skills with in the nursing field. Additionally they lack research skills used in nursing as well as knowledge on informatics the use of technological advances in enhancing quality medical delivery. ADN gives you the fundamentals of nursing practices. They basic theory, skills, competencies knowledge of scope of practice and legalities for licensure and the essential general education core that is necessary as a foundation [English, psychology, biology chemistry, anatomy and physiology , etc].it gives you the bare minimum knowledge required...
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...of a certain product that can be produced for certain prices. Price is the relationship between supply and demand. “The law of demand is if factors remain equal, the higher the price of the supply the less demand there will be. The law of supply is the quantities that will be sold at a certain price, and the higher the price the higher the quantity supplied” (Hekla, 2012). This in turn increases revenue because with high demand, comes high supply due to wanting or needing the product. With high supply and low price, than comes high demand due to the lower price. Demands and supply for health care products and medications continues to be in high demand as products are developed. The newer the product, the higher the demand, and the higher the price. Product Lovenox is a product used to treat and prevent deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolisms. This medication is given subcutaneously by a care giver or the patient may be trained to give their own. Lovenox is also known by the generic name of Enoxaparin. Lovenox is used in the treatment of many other diagnosis such as thrombophlebitis, carotid artery dissection, peripartum cardiomyopathy, pulmonary infarction, and Factor V Leiden thrombophilia. Lovenox is a low molecular weight heparin and thins the blood to prevent clotting (MEDgle, 2012). A study conducted in 176 centers, in...
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...Therefore, one solution to the problem is to make the long term objective into raising the prices of alcohol through taxation. It is not possible to charge taxes solely on alcohol abusers. According to Hein “tax increases will cause welfare losses for moderate drinkers through a reduction in consumers' surplus. If moderate drinkers have lower medical care costs, medical insurance premiums will be lower for abstainers, resulting in a positive externality for nondrinkers. That insurance consequence, plus the loss in consumers' surplus, makes the calculation of the social cost of alcohol abuse alone inappropriate for evaluation of increased taxation.” Studies show that the price of alcohol is an influencing factor among youths and young adults drinking alcohol, it reduces drinking and driving in all ages, it lowers the frequency of diseases, injuries, and deaths related to alcohol use and abuse. 2. The rise in costs of prescription medicines affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising...
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...HSM 543 Health Services Finance Spring 2013 Trends Toward the Innovations of Integrated Healthcare Service Systems Abstract The healthcare industry is a large and dynamic sector with many unique characteristics. It includes hospitals, health systems, ambulatory clinics, medical group practices, and other organizations providing health-care services. Business and leaders must be well equipped in traditional management knowledge and practices to manage the unique aspects of the health-services industry. The success of the new Health Care Reform depends on the cost, types of coverage and technological advances. Careful elevation and true quality assurance programs will reduce some the nepotism that goes on in our system. This will allow the best person, business, or technology to be used as it is needed. The innovation that has been created over the past ten years have allowed for improvements as well as lowering the mortality rate. Japan system allows for frequent health checks and even house calls are being done electronically. This paper looks at various costs of the Healthcare system, technological alternatives available in the Healthcare system and look at the pros and cons of different options available. History of the United States Healthcare If we compare the quality of health care today with the health care prevailing a century ago, it has dramatically...
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