Discuss The Financial Considerations Of Health Care

Behavioral Health
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Behavioral Health
The role of hospital administrators has evolved since the first professional hospital administrators were formally trained in the late 1920s (Cronin, Schuller, & Bolon, 2018). Administrators need to be individuals who can recognize opportunities and minimize risks. One of the emerging issues in healthcare is behavioral health integration. Behavioral health refers to the broad applicability of integrated health services in medical care to offer a total care approach. The provision of complete care would require hospital administrators to address a range of issues aimed at improving the health outcome of the patients. This essay will discuss the financial considerations of health care and patient safety issues.
Financial consideration
Health system financial sustainability has remained a central health policy issue. The healthcare providers are under constant pressure to minimize costs while at the same time improving the quality of care and maintaining a strong workforce (Dong, 2015). Such a demand on the healthcare facilities comes with some financial challenges. The reimbursement levels have continued to change as healthcare becomes more focused on the consumer. Some of the problems have evolved because of the growing, complex and diverse healthcare offerings. The increasing costs in almost every area of healthcare have adversely affected the providers and patient willingness to seek care.
One of the key issues facing the healthcare administrators is providing affordable healthcare rates with the rising costs. The increasing costs can be attributed to the high costs of pharmaceuticals, fraud, abuse, and waste. It is essential for healthcare administrators to address the issue of increasing costs in healthcare. According to the United Nations (2017), the number of older individuals above 60 years is expected to double by the year 2050. These older adults need more healthcare services despite the tighter budget restrictions. Hence, without cost control mechanisms, the healthcare facilities may be unable to offer care to the elderly.
Some providers often experience delayed payments over services rendered. The patient billing system is complex which makes the process of payment lengthy. Further, both Medicare and Medicaid do not occur promptly. The cuts in government spending on healthcare mean that hospitals are unable to subsidize their costs. There has also been competition from other providers which means that care providers cannot increase the costs of care to realize significant incomes. There has been a prevalence of bad debts like the emergency room charges which are uncollectible.
Furthermore, Healthcare administrators require a strong understanding of healthcare finance. They need to have a firm grasp of accounting procedures, marketing, and operations so that they can eliminate the massive waste.
Additionally, the administrators need to develop alternative sources of income. They can consider investing in telemedicine, ambulatory care centers, and pharmaceutical research. The investment options would allow the hospitals to have alternative sources of income in case of payment delays. With alternative sources of income, the providers can continue to offer high-quality care despite the increasing healthcare costs.
Additionally, healthcare providers need to grow their market. There is a need for hospital administration to maintain their current market share while at the same time seeking to have more. Such growth can be achieved by having strategic partnerships. Hospitals should identify opportunities for collaborations in symbiotic relationships (Courtney, West, and Hozack, 2018). Through partnerships, healthcare providers will be in a position to focus on what they can offer at a lower cost while allowing others to provide services which would otherwise be costly to provide. There is also a need for hospitals to share resources with other hospitals and healthcare providers. In other instances, providers can undertake mergers to benefit from the economies of scale and other benefits like interoperability and consolidated healthcare leadership. Eventually, patients will be able to access high-quality care services which are affordable.
In the past, hospitals used to rely on the volume of patients to increase profitability. However, with the healthcare reforms, relying on volume alone is not sufficient. There is a need for the providers to shift to value-based care. Instead of relying on the number of patients visiting the facilities, healthcare providers can offer better services at increased costs. The move will reduce over-relying on the volume of patients, which may not generate reasonable profits.
Furthermore, healthcare providers need to reduce their operating costs and wastage. One of the strategies is bundling services to save on the total costs of ownership. For example, the providers can use unified systems from a single vendor that entail service and maintenance costs. The other strategy is considering different modes of paying for services. For instance, instead of buying expensive equipment and premises, the providers can lease or rent equipment. The move would ensure that the providers can pay for the services over a period.
In an attempt to address cost issues, healthcare providers can utilize technology. They can use smartphones to manage healthcare issues with mobile applications. The healthcare facilities can use mobile apps to offer services like test result communication and billing. The use of technology can enhance communication between the providers and the clients. Offering care through mobile phones is a cost-effective way of meeting the health needs of the clients.
Additionally, technology allows the use of big data and artificial intelligence to enhance analytics and improve efficiency and identify problematic areas. Having an efficient healthcare system would save on costs associated with inefficient systems.
Moreover, automation can also assist in addressing revenue cycle challenges. Currently, healthcare organizations rely more on revenue obtained from patients. Using analytics can assist the providers to collect more from the patients and maximize reimbursement (Hammer, 2018). Analytics are also useful in engaging employees concerning minimizing costs. Health systems with analytics indicating cost and quality outcomes can enable the employees to make informed decisions that eventually lead to an improved financial picture of the facility.
Patient safety issues
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