Control Knob Application in Healthcare Medicine, Nursing Research

Control Knob Application in HealthcareNameInstitutional AffiliationDate
Substance use disorder is usually characterized by impairments in health, social function and voluntary control over substance abuse. In most cases, substance use disorder range from mild to severe depending on the severity of the use and the duration when they are used. The treatment procedure for substance abuse occurs through the treatment programs where there is little or no involvement of the primary healthcare procedures. As such, it shows that there is a shift that is occurring in the ways in which the health care services are being offered to the patients. The general health care system is used to treat the patients who have mild and moderate substance use disorders while the other patients suffering from addiction require specialized treatment CITATION USD16 \l 1033 (US Department of Health Services, 2016).
Regardless of all these, there are recent developments in the health care system that involves proven strategies to treat and manage substance use disorders. The Control Knobs framework is one of the policy frameworks that can be used in the improvement of services that are provided by the healthcare organization. The framework is a combination of the health system and HSS framework CITATION Ste12 \l 1033 (Steven, et al., 2012). The control knobs that are mentioned under the framework are financing, organization, payment, regulation, and behavior CITATION Wil06 \l 1033 (William, 2006 ). The use of any of the control frameworks can be used to improve the rate of healthcare for the substance use disorder patients.
Control Knob Framework in Healthcare Diagram
Source: William, H. (2006 ). Introduction to Control Knobs. Harvard University.
The first control knob which is financing can combine another knob known as payment. The knob refers to the ways in which the funds are mobilized or collected and the ways in which the funds are paid out. There are different financing methods such as donor funding, community financing, payments by the patients, general taxation, social insurance and even private insurance CITATION Geo09 \l 1033 (George, 2009). The control knob can be used in a healthcare organization dealing with substance abuse so that the resources allocated are determined and the person who is in charge of the resources should be identified so that when the resources are underutilized, they will take up the responsibility and explain what happened. The ways in which the funds are allocated to the various substance abuse programs that are run by the healthcare facility have great implications in terms of efficiency in healthcare delivery CITATION Sud11 \l 1033 (Sudhir & Barnighausen, 2011). Funds should be allocated towards medical training so that the healthcare professionals acquire the necessary skills of handling substance abuse. Also, there needs to be rationing of the services that are provided by healthcare professionals. In terms of the out payments by the organization, individuals and organizations should be careful about the interventions that they come up with so as to ensure that there is accountability. Such strategies include determining the amount to be paid to suppliers, the fees and proper budgeting.
Organization of the health care system can also play a great role in improving healthcare in substance abuse among patients. The division of roles is one of the areas where the healthcare facilities can put more emphasis on. In most of the healthcare facilities that provide patients with services, the roles are unclear and as such the period that the patient takes to recover is a bit longer. There should also be regular interactions among the various departments that are involved in health care of the patients to ensure coordination of activities. The managerial institutions should also offer incentives to health care providers as a way of improving the services that they give to substance abuse patients. The incentives will also foster a competition within the institution that will ensure that services that are delivered are of the highest level CITATION Liu18 \l 1033 (Liu, 2018).
Regulation is the use of coercive power within the organization to change the way of life of people. All the above-mentioned knobs are accompanied by the regulation knob to ensure effective service delivery CITATION Hed111 \l 1033 (Hedge, 2011). There should be regulations on the people who are supposed to prescribe drugs for the substance abuse patients and the people who are eligible for medical training at the institutions. The people who attend to the patients should be qualified to ensure that the patients have received professional healthcare services.
Application of the Framework
The above framework was studied in a case study that was applied in Malawi in May 2010. The case study evaluated the ways in which HSS initiatives have affected maternal health care within the country. At first, information on maternal healthcare in Malawi was collected in the year 2000 and in the year 2010. The two snapshots when information was collected were used to identify when and where major actions were taken and the changes that they brought by the end of the 10-year period. One of the greatest challenges that they were facing was a severe shortage of healthcare workers. The shortage was caused by the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the unattractive working conditions. After 2000, the MOH and its partne...