Impact of Health Care Costs on service Delivery Essay

Impact of Health Care Costs on service Delivery - Essay Example Market forces have increased competition among health care providers, with greater scrutiny of services, accountability for outcomes and emphasis on patient satisfaction. Therefore health care facilities are becoming more service-oriented (Singh & Shi, 2004). It is stated by the National Coalition on Health Care (2007) that high health insurance premiums resulting in a greater number of uninsured people in the community financially affect health care providers and hospitals. Providing affordable health insurance to all Americans would alleviate substantial financial demands on health care facilities. Cooper (1994) observes that health care costs have compelled hospitals to employ new methods to monitor reduced costs and improve quality care and patient satisfaction. These efforts will increasingly expand to include outpatient and physician services. Hospitals will also be under increasing scrutiny by various public and regulatory agencies for their business ventures, hospital-physician relationships and mergers. While financial options will be increasingly limited, the aging of the population will put even greater demands on hospital service delivery, especially on long-term care. Although managed care with strict rationing brought with it concerns about medical errors and reduced services in the late 1990s, practically all U.S. hospitals have established continuous quality improvement programs in order to comply with standards: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organisations (Wolper, 2004). Wilson & Porter-O’Grady (1999) state that the relationship between cost factors and quality indicators becomes very important to the viability of the health system. Continual cross-consultation and performance comparison activities will require much stronger, more accountable clinical relationships between providers, including physicians. A seamless organisational structure is required in which all the care workers including physicians will need to