Question

In what way is health care a business? In what ways is it not? In what way is the business case in health care different from organizations in other sectors of the US economy? Do you believe the business case for diversity and cultural competence in health care is strong enough that leadership in US health care provider organizations should make strategic diversity management and cultural competence a high priority? .

Answer 1

Healthcare can be said business at one point as well as non business at other end. Healthcare can be said business because many healthcare organizations like private hospitals, drug retail stores, health Insurance company etc are providing their services for profit which they get in terms of money payment by patients. So business is all about making profit so this way exchange of healthcare service with money make health care a Business.

The thing which it does not make it a business that it is not only focused entirely on profit making but it i also about providing public healthcare services like free medical check in public schools, medical service to cities where natural disaster hits, medical services offered in situation like epidemic etc to community . Players provide direct and indirect health care services to ambulatory patients. This category includes Outpatient care centers, Medical and diagnostic laboratories, Ambulance Services and other ambulatory health care services. so there are other aspects of healthcare like NGOs which provide healthcare for only benefit to society not for money. so if someone ask if they do charity then how they get money so they get money from donation, government funding etc.

Business case in healthcare different from organizations in other sectors like retail, technology,e-commerce,automobile etc of the US economy because they all are profit oriented while the healthcare business involve for profit with social benefit. There is also great influence of Government regulations like Obamacare, HIPPA etc in healthcare as compared to other sectors of US economy. Healthcare is considered as right in US while other sector does have such philosophy.

Yes, i believe that Business case should make strategic diversity management and cultural competence a high priority because With increased globalization and cultural diversity of patient and introduction of discrimination laws, Health care providers in public as well as private areas should provide quality care irrespective of culture of patient.

Cultural competence of business healthcare will help providers and organizations to effectively deliver health care services that meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients . Examples of strategies to move the health care system towards these goals include providing relevant training on cultural competence and cross-cultural issues to health professionals and creating policies that reduce administrative and linguistic barriers to patient care.