Issues Trends in Healthcare

Course Description

A history of the U.S. health care delivery system will be explored to understand the current issues and trends. The changing roles of the components of the system as well as technical, economic, political, and social forces effecting change will be discussed. Inpatient, outpatient, and long term care will be explored.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course the student will be able to:

• Discuss the historical developments that have shaped the U. S. health care system.
• Compare and contrast health care in other countries and the United States.
• Discuss the concepts of behavioral risk factors, health promotion and disease prevention.
• Discuss the goals and objectives of Healthy People 2010 and the different health professions roles in helping to meet the goals and objectives.
• Interpret morbidity, mortality, prevalence, and incidence data and measures of utilization.
• Discuss the human and non human resources that drive the process of health care delivery.
• Discuss the training, practice requirements and practice setting of various types of health services professionals.
• Discuss the factors influencing the dissemination, regulation, and utilization of technology in health care delivery.
• Examine the impact of technology on quality of care, quality of life, health care costs, access to care, and structure of health service delivery.
• Differentiate between the concepts of group insurance, self-insurance, individual insurance, managed care, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans and Indian health services.
• Discuss the key problems and issues in health care financing.
• Differentiate between in-patient, out patient, ambulatory, long term and primary care.
• Compare and contrast the different modes under which health maintenance organizations are organized and the advantages and disadvantages of each model.
• Discuss health services for special populations such as racial/ethnic minorities, the uninsured, women, children, rural populations, mental health, chronically ill and disabled, and people with HIV/AIDS.
• Discuss the outcomes of the health care system in terms of cost, access, quality, and the policy issues surrounding these outcomes.
• Discuss the outlook for health care services in the future.