Why should the concept of need not be the sole determinant of the demand for medical care?
b) How do you see the implications of Supply and Demand theory show up in your company’s strategies?
c) Thinking outside the box, what types of changes could we make that would make health care cheaper?
d) If health care is cheaper, who benefits and how do they benefit?
e) Do you agree or disagree with the author’s conclusion as to the reason why health costs have not declined? Why?
SAMPLE ANSWER (DO NOT COPY)
Graded Discussion One
a) Why should the concept of need not be the sole determinant of the demand for medical care?
In healthcare, adopting the practice of need being the sole determinant of the demand of medical care could warrant negative results such as resource misallocation. Need is more objective than subjective. Consumers’ health situations may appear to demand a certain amount of medical care, however, due to consumer sovereignty, they are allowed to refuse the resources that have been allocated to them. Because of this, resources will not be utilized to its maximum in order to create positive, high levels of service.
b) How do you see the implications of the Supply and Demand theory show up in your company’s strategy?
The Supply and Demand theory merely states the amount of product (service) demanded is equal to the amount of consumers willing to utilize it. This theory is driven by the price of the product being supplied, or service being given. Working in a hospital environment allows for the supply and demand theory to be observed quite often. The increase in unit census and how it is handled is an example of the Supply and Demand theory at work. Ideally, an increase in the demand for services should, warrant an increase in staffing, or services. However, in some cases, staffing (supplying of services) is not directly correlated to demand. Even if the demand is great, the budget (price allotted for given services) must be taken into consideration before services can be allocated. Unfortunately, in the efforts of an organization to utilize its resources in the most efficient manner, there are times where demands are not able to be met and shortages of service and resources are the outcome.
c) Thinking outside the box what kind of changes could we make that would make healthcare cheaper?
Currently, there have been changes in health care that are starting to address decreasing the costliness of care such as, implementing EMRs and attempts at decreasing out-of-pocket costs. Other ways that could possibly assist with this movement are:
1.) More creative use of technology. The creation of more effective medications or more effective testing equipment will allow for better health outcomes and shorter recovery times. If recovery times are cut in half, the medical costs for a consumer to return to a stable, healthy state will also decrease (Feldstein, 2012).
2.) Education and licensing of all staff. It has been researched that a trained and educated staff produces more efficiently within an organization. Ideally, it would be beneficial for all staff to be required to have some specific documented level of training, certification or higher level degrees. Hospitals are now making strides to move towards an all BSN RN environment, but all areas of care should be held to the same standard. Providing OSHA training for environmental services employees, not only those in managerial positions, would allow for a department to be more efficient and increase productivity and quality care.
d) If health care is cheaper, who benefits and how do they benefit?
Everyone benefits from cheaper health care. Consumers benefit because their out of pocket expenses will decrease due to the partial, or complete, coverage of services (Feldstein, 2012). Medical care facilities benefit because with cheaper health care costs come higher consumer demand. If those demands are successfully met, they will receive government reimbursements to accommodate the increase. Once health care becomes cheaper, quality will be weighed more heavily than quantity.
e) Do you agree or disagree with the author’s conclusion as to the reason why health costs have not declined? Why?
