HSM541 All Weeks Discussions (July 2019)

HSM 541 Health Services System

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 COSTS, QUALITY, AND ACCESS

Class, welcome to week one. Please discuss the interrelationships between healthcare costs, quality, and access from the Roemer model of health services systems. Make suggestions on how one would maximize access and quality while keeping costs low. Now, analyze why these suggestions have not been put into place.

Make sure to respond to other students’ posts as well so we can keep the discussion going. Please remember to refer to your syllabus for guidelines on frequency and quality of posts.

DQ2 ILLNESS VERSUS HEALTH PROMOTION

Class, welcome to week 1! Criticism has been leveled at the curative rather than health promotion/disease prevention focus of the U.S. healthcare system. Should the focus change? Why or why not? Do you see evidence of a shift occurring? If so, what do you think is contributing to that change?

Make sure to respond to other students’ posts as well so we can keep the discussion going. Please remember to refer to your syllabus for guidelines on frequency and quality of posts

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE

Class, welcome to week 2! What do you see as the biggest workforce challenge(s) for hospitals today? Are the issues any different for other types of healthcare organizations? What strategies are being used by hospitals for recruiting and retaining staff?

Make sure to respond to other students’ posts as well so we can keep the discussion going. Please remember to refer to your syllabus for guidelines on frequency and quality of posts.

DQ2 GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS

Class, welcome to week 2! What are the roles of government-sponsored healthcare programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Affairs (VA), Indian Health Services (IHS), and Prison Health Services? How do they impact access, cost, and quality? Do these government programs do a good job of meeting the healthcare needs of the populations they are intended to serve?

Make sure to respond to other students’ posts as well so we can keep the discussion going. Please remember to refer to your syllabus for guidelines on frequency and quality of posts.

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 PRIVATE INSURANCE

Let’s consider the general concept of insurance. How does health insurance differ from other kinds of insurance? What are the similarities and differences between them?

Next, let’s consider what might happen if value-based reimbursement completely replaces volume-based (i.e., fee-for-service) reimbursement. What are the implications for providers? For patients?For healthcare managers and administrators?

DQ2 THE UNINSURED

Class, Welcome to week 3! Despite numerous efforts to minimize or eliminate the high number of Americans with no health insurance, the ever-increasing costs of insurance is the primary obstacle in achieving this goal. If you were in charge, what would you propose to minimize or eliminate Americans with no health insurance other than a nationalized system such as many other countries have (e.g., Canada, England, France, Japan, etc.)?

Why do you think a nationalized system of healthcare and insurance is not likely a reality in our lifetime?

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 PRIMARY CARE

Class, welcome to week 4! How would you define the role of primary care from the perspectives of health promotion and health protection? Why are these facets of primary care important, and how do they influence the business of healthcare?

DQ2 THE BUSINESS OF HEALTHCARE

Respond to a topic related to a current medical, technological, and/or pharmaceutical breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment. Post a 1- to 2-minute multimedia piece recapping the news article and providing your opinion on how the business of healthcare is at least partially responsible for this breakthrough.

In addition to posting your individual multimedia piece, you must comment on two other students’ multimedia pieces. A multimedia technology does not need to be used in the replies, but you are always welcome to use it! Remember, they must still be quality posts. Simply stating, “Nice job, I agree” is not sufficient. Examples of quality posts include

providing additional information to the discussion;

elaborating on previous comments from others;

presenting explanations of concepts or methods to help fellow students;

presenting reasons for or against a topic in a persuasive fashion;

sharing your own personal experiences that relate to the topic; and

providing a URL and explanation for an area you researched on the Internet.

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 HOSPITALS

Class, welcome to the week 5! What are some of the innovative responses that hospital organizations (e.g., offices, clinics, hospitals, etc.) have made or are making now to address changes in today’s competitive healthcare marketplace? Then, analyze the long-term viability of these innovative responses and make a prediction for what innovative responses may be implemented in the future.

DQ2 INPATIENT VERSUS OUTPATIENT HEALTHCARE

Class, welcome to week 5! Assess the history and proliferation of outpatient healthcare services and discuss why the shift away from traditional hospital inpatient care continues. Then predict what a hospital versus outpatient healthcare organization or clinic will look like 10–15 years in the future.

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 ERRORS, SAFETY

Welcome to week 6! Since the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which is now part of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), published To Err Is Human in 1999, a groundbreaking report that boldly pointed out the problem of medical errors, concerns regarding patient safety and the need to reduce errors have come to the forefront of the U.S. healthcare system.

What initiatives have accreditation organizations and other external agencies undertaken to address these issues? What strategies have been used by ancillary healthcare institutions (mental health and public health) to reduce medical errors? Do you think these efforts have been effective?

DQ2IMPROVING QUALITY

Welcome to week 6! What do you see as the biggest challenge(s) ahead for us as we attempt to improve the quality of our healthcare delivery system in the United States? Are these challenges the same for ancillary services (e.g., mental health and public health) and traditional services (e.g., offices, clinics, hospitals)? Why or why not?

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 HEALTHCARE RESEARCH AND EBM (EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE)

Welcome to week 7! Why is healthcare research, commonly referred to as evidence-based medicine (EBM), important to healthcare leaders? Give a specific example of a contemporary EBM or research discovery and tell us how it positively impacts various stakeholders (e.g., patients, providers, third-party payers, managers and leaders, legislators, etc.). Make sure to respond to other students’ posts as well so we can keep the discussion going. Please remember to refer to your syllabus for guidelines on frequency and quality of posts.

DQ2 HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP

Welcome to week 7! Healthcare leadership has become increasingly challenging and complex in the 21st century. How does a leader’s level of cultural competence, health literacy, and healthcare ethics impact a specific type of healthcare organization (specify)? What are the characteristics of healthcare organizations that make successful leadership more difficult? Make sure to respond to other students’ posts as well so we can keep the discussion going. Please remember to refer to your syllabus for guidelines on frequency and quality of posts