HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION

Health Care Organization

Health Care Organization

Introduction

The U.S. health care system is a complex network composed of the thousands of organizations and millions of individuals that deliver health care services to the population of the United States and work with other governments and multinational organizations to protect the public's health domestically and globally. The system provides services across the continuum of care: from health promotion and prevention, to disease or injury diagnosis and treatment, through rehabilitation and maintenance for those suffering from lingering illness or chronic disease. A state activity in the health sector has a multifaceted impact on American society. Health policies affect the essential interests of virtually all sectors, groups and classes of society, is central to political life. Private medical insurance system exists under state law, which determines the incentives and the direction of its development, providing the state control. State tax policy largely stimulates the formation of private health insurance system, and it referred as a "parastatal".

United States entered the third millennium with a highly developed health care, which contributed significantly to the success of the American economy. In 1999, national health expenditures totaled $ 1 trillion (13% of GDP). (Ulla Saarela, 2000, 25-35) As shown in figure 1.1

Figure 1.1

Increased life expectancy is the most important social change since the inception of the social insurance system. In 1935, when the Social Security Act came into force, life expectancy for men was 62 years and for women - 66 years. Life expectancy for women is 79 years and for men - 73 years. It predicted that persons whose age was 65 years old would live another 17 years. By 2030, people who retired at age 65, live on average another 19 years. In 1998, the index of infant mortality (children under one year) was equal to 7.2 (per 1000 live births). This is a low figure, indicating the high quality of the country's health.

In the U.S. spend on health (per capita) is 2-3 times higher compared with other industrialized Western countries (in 1999 - 4215 dollars). Moreover, millions of Americans have no health insurance and, therefore no guaranteed access to health.

The most important feature of health care in the United States is the legal protection of the patient. The system of legislation, which provides mechanisms for the protection of his rights, has led to the creation of conditions under which the arbitrariness with regard to human health from both the providers and the state almost eliminated. This mechanism organically integrated into the system paradigm of a democratic society.

Problems for health care organization

Lack of access to quality health care has been a long-standing risk for rural Americans. Multiple factors are emerging that may increase this risk in the future. The National Association for Home Care continuously keeps rural access on the radar and supports legislation that will preserve home care access to vulnerable rural areas. However, in healthcare, as perhaps in no other socio-political sphere, enough serious problems give rise to a certain fragility and relative ...