Implementation of Patient Centered Concepts In a VA Medical Center to Research Paper

Implementation of Patient Centered Concepts In a VA Medical Center to Improve Quality Outcomes - Research Paper Example Problem Background The U. S. has the most advanced healthcare delivery of most countries in the world. Per capita expenditure totaling to thousands of dollars annually, and more of her GDP is ranked relatively higher on healthcare than most countries in the world, at 18.5 percent of GDP in 2007. It has the most sophisticated teaching hospitals and medical research centers in the world yet it is not ranked in first position worldwide. Additional factors significantly impacting how healthcare expenditure is allocated include a few diseases that comprise the bulk of healthcare expenditures. Significant variations in spending can also be mapped by regional, race and socio-economic status. Even diet has a major impact since the US also happen to be the most obese nation on the planet and in essence, just throwing money at the problem will not fix it. Similarly, Information Technology has been applied in very sophisticated ways to deliver better care, but not in a way that makes the cost a nd decisions (as to when and how to deliver it) more efficient and transparent. This paper highlights one case study that demonstrate how health concepts can improve health quality (such as in a VA medical center), and how it can serve as a key component of effective healthcare delivery by creating the necessary data framework for practicing evidence-based medicine (EBM). EBM is gaining traction among providers for two major reasons: firstly, its promise as a tool to help contain continually rising healthcare costs and, secondly its potential to dramatically improve healthcare quality. Implementation of Patient centered Concepts According to Conway et al (2006), the healthcare industry in the United States is... The paper tells that the healthcare industry in the United States is operating at a level of quality and efficiency below the desired standards of patients’ healthcare professionals. The majority of concerns focus around access to care, quality of care, prevalence of incorrect medical diagnoses and rising costs. Furthermore, a solution for business problems can be attained by adopting return on investment (ROI) compared to value produced by addressing the problem and determining which solution is provided. Statistically, a considerable number of expensive health conditions accounted for almost half the total health care expenses, which was mostly chronic conditions and patients with multiple chronic conditions with up to seven times as much as patients with only one chronic condition. About a quarter of the total annual US expenditure on healthcare is spent on ineffective or redundant care. Healthcare premiums have arose by more than half within a decade for family premiums. T he U. S. spends more money per capita on healthcare than any other country. Similarly, organizational costs to acquire and implement electronic healthcare information systems are significantly; particularly to individual medical practitioners as most of the technology solutions currently available are not mature due to the lack of standards and other factors. Cumbersome workflows and ongoing training and maintenance costs are other barriers to acceptance. Misaligned cost burdens for individual practitioners are also an impediment to implementing electronic health information in the current environment.