The Complexities of Health Care System in the U.S. and the World

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion1

Healthcare Regulations in America1

Comparison of Drug Pricing Practices4

Drug Pricing Practices in America4

Drug Pricing Practices in Canada6

Career trends in Healthcare Industry7

Medical Assistants7

Medical Managers7

Radiation Therapist7

Home Health Aides8

Role and Impact of Health Policies9

Major components of the U.S Healthcare System10

Impact of Policy, Social and Financial forces on healthcare access and quality in America10

Conclusion11

References12

The Complexities of Health Care System in the U.S. and the World

Introduction

Healthcare system in America is increasingly becoming the topic of an extensive and heated debate. Thus, being at the crux of a polarizing debate where at one extreme, many analysts argue that American health care system is the best compared to the rest of the world. This claim being made on grounds that of highly freely available and accessibility to medical technology and state of the art facilities that have become symbolic of the American health care system. Conversely, on the other spectrum, many analysts severely criticize and accuse the American health care system for its inefficiency and inadequacy. These claims are backed by relevant arguments such as that, America spends more money on healthcare than any other country in the world and yet it functions and provides unequal quality, non-assurances and high administrative waste (Chua, 2006).

This paper aims to discuss and highlight the various complexes governing the healthcare system, both in the United States and in the world, through different aspects of discussion, to provide an overall and succinct review of the main topic.

Discussion

Healthcare Regulations in America

Field (2007) opines that the groups of regulations that govern the health care system in America are seen as 'overwhelming' by the people who work in this industry. This being due to the fact that almost all aspects of the health care industry is being monitored or overseen by one regulatory body or the other and many health care professionals feel burdened as they have to spent great time with these regulatory authorities, while also ensuring that all the mandated regulations are complied with. This leaves less time and room for them to perform their own duties, efficiently.

Moreover, Field (2007) surmises that it is the continuous and un-resolving confrontations, between the various opposing interests, that have contributed in the creation of the health care system itself. Additionally, these conflicts can be traced back to over one hundred and fifty years. At its core, the division of control plays the most important role, in terms that the actual autonomous authority governing the health care system is divided into each state taking responsibility for its state regulations, but these can be over governed by the federal administration, if more than one factors come into play. This form of division is the rooted cause for the ongoing tensions, from the beginning in the healthcare system. The key health care system role players such as the hospitals, health insurance companies and medical practitioners, are the responsibility of the state level regulators but the federal government acts as the major collaborator in terms of provision ...