Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem

1 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem Limited access to healthcare resources is a significant barrier that augments the risk of poor health outcomes. Healthcare professionals and legislators acknowledge that limited access to health care is a significant problem that needs urgent attention. Although legislators have developed policies to address this problem, many people, particularly the poor and marginalized groups, have experienced disproportionally limited access to healthcare.

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2 Wolfe et al. (2020) identified several factors contributing to limited healthcare access, including poverty, geographic location, migration status, and insurance status. Other factors contributing to limited access to care include low education levels, poor mobility, cultural barriers, and old age (Kelley, 2023). These factors are more pronounced among older people and ethnic minorities. These groups need more resources and needneed health insurance, a critical healthcare access tool. Implementing structures and systems to improve access to healthcare could enhance public health and improve the quality of marginalized groups and older people.

Elements of the Problem As highlighted by Bleich et al. (2019), limited health access is a crucial contributor to poor health outcomes among ethnic minorities, including African Americans. These groups do not seek timely medical services due to anticipated discrimination in healthcare settings.

Also, poverty and poor education prevent these groups from accessing relevant healthcare resources. Mai et al. (2022) noted that older adults experience disproportionately limited healthcare access due to financial difficulties, immobility, and lack of social support. People living in geographically remote regions, as highlighted by Wolfe et al. (2020), experience transportation challenges. Therefore, they cannot access healthcare facilities when the need arises. These articles provide relevant information concerning the causes and consequences of limited healthcare access. Also, they highlight the groups mostly impacted by limited access to healthcare.

Analysis Limited healthcare access hampers the Healthy People 2030 objectives to ensure people have unlimited access to preventive health. Many people still experience difficulties that limit their access to health services. These difficulties vary from one person to another and from setting to setting.

3 Ethnic minorities, immigrants, and older people experience more difficulties accessing health services than mainstream groups. The limited access to health services among these groups is attributable to inadequate health insurance coverage, limited healthcare resources, lack of transportation access, and discrimination in healthcare settings (Kelley, 2023). High healthcare costs also prevent many from accessing primary health services. Poor people either delay or forego medical services due to inadequate finances.

Proper policies and infrastructure are needed to enhance access to care for all.

Delaying medical services due to social, economic, political, and cultural factors leads to poor health outcomes. Adults are likely to develop chronic disorders like diabetes and hypertension if they do not receive preventive services (National Academies of Sciences, 2018). Increasing access to healthcare can resolve the burden associated with chronic diseases and poor health outcomes.

Solution Limited healthcare access can be resolved using several strategies, including telemedicine, mobile health services, increasing insurance coverage, reducing healthcare costs, and addressing the health worker shortage. These interventions address specific factors that cause limited healthcare access. For instance, increasing insurance coverage and reducing healthcare costs address the challenges associated with poverty.

Telehealth is the best intervention to increase access to healthcare. This intervention utilizes health technology platforms to ensure patients can access health services even in remote locations. Telehealth enables patients to consult their primary care providers without traveling to the hospital. Hull et al. (2022) noted that telehealth is an effective and reliable intervention that healthcare providers can use to expand the health system's capacity. This platform could resolve the challenges attributable to specialty shortages and geographic disparities (Hull et al., 2022).

4 However, failure to implement system security could jeopardize patient privacy. Also, some patients do not have access to an internet connection. Another challenge associated with telehealth is that the care provider relies on information provided by the patient since physical examinations are limited.

A telehealth setup is a cost-effective intervention for enhancing healthcare access. The resources needed to establish this system include a secure internet connection, technology support, and a video platform. The system also comprises a computer to record and store interactions between providers and patients.

Implementation Implementing a telehealth program at the hospital is a complex process that must adhere to health technology guidelines. The first step involves establishing a strategy and setting program goals. The next step involves creating a healthcare team responsible for implementing the program. Staff and patient education is crucial to maximize the program’s uptake. The health technology team then installs the necessary physical components, including computers, microphones, servers, and furniture. The right software is installed on the computers, and healthcare workers are encouraged to test the system. Staff and patient feedback help identify areas of improvement.

Ethical Implications When using telehealth to deliver health services, several ethical and practical concerns could devalue care delivery and undermine healthcare. Telehealth may raise issues about the privacy and confidentiality of health information (Solimini et al., 2021). Therefore, providers must ensure that appropriate security measures are implemented to safeguard patient information.

Furthermore, clinicians must integrate ethical principles into telemedicine to achieve the anticipated care outcomes. Autonomy acknowledges the patient’s right to an informed

5 decision. Therefore, clinicians should establish transparent communication and integrate informed consent into patient care to reflect respect for patient autonomy (Keenan et al., 2022). Also, transparent communication helps maintain trust in telemedicine.

In telehealth, beneficence requires healthcare providers to assess the dangers and benefits of using technology to deliver services. Solimini et al. (2021) pointed out that as clinicians integrate telehealth into practice models, they must accomplish this process with robust quality standards. Telehealth practices should be supported by fair and equitable policies to balance patient autonomy with care quality and access standards (Hull et al., 2022).

Keenan et al. (2022) noted that telehealth eliminates the physical proximity of clinicians during patient care. The clinician’s physical absence raises the issue of nonmaleficence. Therefore, to ensure telehealth promotes safety and reduces patient care risks, clinicians should increase patient awareness, integrate safety testing, and use data security systems.

Conclusion Limited access to care affects patient care outcomes. It increases the burden of disease by exposing many people to chronic conditions. Poverty, geographical location, and limited education significantly contribute to limited healthcare access. Implementing telehealth programs can increase healthcare access and reduce the burden of diseases among poor people and ethnic minorities.

6 References Bleich, S. N., Findling, M. G., Casey, L. S., Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M., SteelFisher, G. K., ... & Miller, C. (2019). Discrimination in the US: Experiences of black Americans.

Health Services Research, 54, 1399–1408. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13220 Hull, S. C., Oen-Hsiao, J. M., & Spatz, E. S. (2022). Focus: Bioethics: practical and ethical considerations in telehealth: pitfalls and opportunities. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 95(3), 367. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9511944/ Keenan, A. J., Tsourtos, G., & Tieman, J. (2022). Promise and peril-defining ethical telehealth practice from the clinician and patient perspective: A qualitative study. Digital health, 8, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076211070394 Kelley, A. (2023). Public Health Evaluation and the Social Determinants of Health. Taylor & Francis Limited.

Mai, S., Cai, J., & Li, L. (2022). Factors associated with access to healthcare services for older adults with limited activities of daily living. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 921980. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpubh.2022.921980 National Academies of Sciences (2018). Healthcare utilization as a proxy in disability determination. National Academies Press.

Palozzi, G., Schettini, I., & Chirico, A. (2020). Enhancing the sustainable goal of access to healthcare: findings from a literature review on telemedicine employment in rural areas. Sustainability, 12(8), 3318. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083318 Solimini, R., Busardò, F. P., Gibelli, F., Sirignano, A., & Ricci, G. (2021). Ethical and legal challenges of telemedicine in the era of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Medicina, 57(12), 1314. https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fmedicina57121314 Wolfe, M. K., McDonald, N. C., & Holmes, G. M. (2020). Transportation barriers to health care in the U.S: findings from the national health interview survey, 1997–2017.

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