Question

Suppose an extraterrestrial anthropologist asks you what type of health system you would build in the United States, if you could start from scratch. You need to 1) describe the health care system and how it would be financed. 2) describe where care would be received and how care would be rationed. 3) discuss production efficiency, efficiency in consumption, and equitable redistribution [see chapter 36 for a reminder of these definitions] and how they relate to your proposal. How and why is your proposed system better than the current health care system in the United States?

Answer 1

1.HEALTHCARE SYSTEM DESCRIPTION-

✓Timely access to health services by qualified professionals.

✓ Guaranteed insurance to both residents and immigrants.

✓Integrated healthcare by an interprofessional medical team.

✓Patient centric care and free from commercial motives.

✓Resources allocation to both treatment and prevention of diseases.

✓on demand and affordable specialized services.

✓Focus on research for new treatments and medical procedures.

✓evidence based treatment.

FINANCING - financing in my system would be inspired from UK's Beveridge model.

✓Government would pay for the services. It would remove commercial motives and out of pocket expenditure.

✓Funds would come from tax collection.

2. WHERE WOULD CARE BE RECEIVED -

care would be received at different healthcare centres depending on ailment.

✓ primary healthcare centres - will have public health nurses for generalized concerns.

✓ secondary healthcare centres like outpatient clinics and hospitals - to provide specialized care like cardiologist.

✓ tertiary healthcare service centres for services like ICU, CABG,etc.

HEALTHCARE RATIONING

✓ it is done to allocate limited resources.

✓ Government would determine the amount of fund and type of healthcare service that it wants to provide.

✓ healthcare providers would ration on factors like severity of disease, prognosis of patient , etc.

✓ patient may even self ration by choosing to not have an insurance.

3.

PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

✓ to produce optimal care with least possible resources.

✓for eg - providing least effective medicine doses to patients , choosing a cost effective medical intervention wherever possible, choosing a right healthcare programme for patients, etc.

EFFICIENCY IN CONSUMPTION -

✓ to consume resources in a way that produces maximum benefit

✓ includes providing quality healthcare so that misdiagnosis can be prevented and resources are saved.

✓Emphasis on primary healthcare so that minor ailments do not waste crucial resources.

EQUITABLE REDISTRIBUTION

✓means - ensure everyone has equal access and usage to resources.

✓assess population needs.

✓Control of risk factors will spare resources.

✓Identifying priority patients , so that services can be provided to those who actually need them.

WHY AND HOW IS MY PROPOSAL BETTER

✓it has all the components of an ideal healthcare system.

✓ it ensures timely,quality and affordable healthcare by specialized professionals as compared to present day delayed and expensive care.

✓ It focuses on innovation for optimum resource utilisation , which is lagging in present healthcare system.

✓ my system is efficient - it ensures minimum necessary utilisation of resources to produce maximum healthcare benefits.