Effects of Social, Cultural, and Political Influences in Delivery of Healthcare Services

Effects of Social, Cultural, and Political Influences in Delivery of Healthcare Services

Introduction

Whenever I hear the notion “healthcare” an organized system appears in my mind that provides care to people 24/7 from birth till death. According to various research a good and effective healthcare is one whose function is provide effective and quality care to all people regardless of their cultural differences and social factors. Different people have different views about health care and their services delivery, it usually depends on whether they have adequate health insurance or not or whether they are well or sick. The health system is a major system of a country whose main objective is to improve the health status of the population. Its primary function is providing effective medical services to all individuals (Basu, 2008). The term "delivery" means the mode of combination of the various elements (financial, personnel, equipment and drugs) to ensure a series of interventions in the field of health. The delivery of healthcare services depends on people like trained paraprofessionals and professions which work together as interdisciplinary team which includes various health practitioners, medicine, dentistry, allied health, and nursing. There are various elements influencing delivery of healthcare services like economical, political, social, technological, and cultural factors. However in this paper I am going to focus on the effects of cultural, social, and political factors influencing the delivery of healthcare in United States. The analysis is going to help us in understanding the effects and effectively managing the risk and quality of patients and organizations providing healthcare services.

Health Care system of US

The health care system in the United States is a leader in the world. Health care in the United States remains different as compared to other developed nations. The United States of America is the owner of the most expensive health care system in the world. Unlike other developed countries, the United States has a system of universal coverage. With the exception of those aged 65 years and those with low incomes, who have access to a government health system, each citizen has a responsibility to seek their own medical coverage (Kennedy, 2006). Many Americans get through their employers and other private health insurance contract. U.S. spends on health system more than any other country in both in absolute terms and in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. We can take an example of expenditure in 2007 in which U.S. spent about 2.26 trillion, on health which amounts to 7439 dollars per person. According to recent estimates in the U.S. health care consumes nearly 16% of GDP. It is expected that the share of GDP allocated to healthcare in the U.S. will increase to 2017 will amount to 19.5%. However, over the past 30 years, an increase of this sector is mainly due to government programs that could seriously undermine the financial stability of the country.

The health system in the United States is characterized by contradictions and ...