HCM 307 Discuss 2 barriers to accessible health care in your own community

HCM 307 Discuss 2 barriers to accessible health care in your own community

HCM 307 Discuss 2 barriers to accessible health care in your own community

            Access to healthcare is a right for all. However, most populations still experience challenges in accessing the care they need due to barriers in healthcare. Nurses and other healthcare providers play the crucial role of implementing evidence-based strategies to minimize barriers to healthcare access. They also collaborate with their populations to implement interventions that align with their prioritized needs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine barriers to accessible healthcare in my community and what the hospital could do to improve access to care in my community.

Barriers to Accessible Health

            Several barriers to accessible health exist in my community. One of them is disability. People with disabilities tend to experience considerable challenges in accessing the healthcare that they need. The barriers are more than he physical challenges that arise due to their status. The barriers experienced by this population vary. They include most of the physical environments in healthcare settings being inaccessible, lack of assistive technologies, and negative attitudes by others towards them. Most of the hospitals also lack policies and systems that prioritize the needs of the disabled(CDC, 2019). Besides the above, the disabled experience communication barriers, stigma, stereotyping, and transportation barriers that affect their independent functioning.

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            The second barrier to healthcare access in my community is cost. Healthcare cost in America is among the highest in the world’s most developed countries. The high cost implies that not all the populations can afford or access the healthcare that they need. The American government has implemented strategies such as adopting the Affordable Care Act to increase the access to and affordability of care. However, these strategies are inadequate as seen from the persistence in the access to healthcare for different populations. For example, individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds, low socioeconomic status, and unemployed still experience challenges in accessing the healthcare they need in my community(Garney et al., 2021; Huot et al., 2019). Therefore, it is important to implement interventions that will address the cost-related barriers to increase healthcare access for all in the community.

What the Hospital can do to Improve Access to Care

            The hospital can incorporate telehealth into the delivery of healthcare services to improve access to care for the community. Telehealth is a technology that enables virtual delivery of healthcare services. Health organizations have embraced telehealth use in the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, major depression, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among others. Telehealth addresses barriers to access to healthcare in several ways. First, it eliminates cost-related challenges in the access to healthcare. The virtual interaction between patients and healthcare providers reduces costs incurred in visiting the facility. The technology also promotes patient-centered, coordinated care. Patients are assured continuity in care even following their discharge, which improves patient outcomes such as safety, quality, and efficiency (Edge et al., 2020). Therefore, telehealth is an effective solution to the challenge of healthcare access in the community.

Conclusion

            Disability and cost are some of the barriers to access to health care in my community. The barriers contribute to health disparities among the community members. Telehealth is a solution the hospital can adopt to address the barriers. It will reduce healthcare costs, enhance care coordination, patient-centeredness, and patient outcomes.

References

CDC. (2019, September 4). Disability and Health Disability Barriers | CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability-barriers.html

Edge, C., George, J., Black, G., Gallagher, M., Ala, A., Patel, S., Edwards, S., & Hayward, A. (2020). Using telemedicine to improve access, cost and quality of secondary care for people in prison in England: A hybrid type 2 implementation effectiveness study. BMJ Open, 10(2), e035837. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035837

Garney, W., Wilson, K., Ajayi, K. V., Panjwani, S., Love, S. M., Flores, S., Garcia, K., & Esquivel, C. (2021). Social-Ecological Barriers to Access to Healthcare for Adolescents: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084138

Huot, S., Ho, H., Ko, A., Lam, S., Tactay, P., MacLachlan, J., &Raanaas, R. K. (2019). Identifying barriers to healthcare delivery and access in the Circumpolar North: Important insights for health professionals. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1), 1571385. https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2019.1571385