Analysis: Impact of Health Policies on Healthcare Organizations and Systems
Himmelstein & Woolhandler (1990) are among the earliest sociologists and researchers to investigate the effects of health policy on healthcare organizations and systems. The authors note that healthcare has undergone many changes during the last few decades, and rather than provide humanitarian services, most healthcare policies and regulations now favor scientific and economic services or results rather than good medical care. Theoretically the authors suggests humanitarian concerns should be bold and prevalent in any healthcare organizations policies. Such policies should provide guidance for the care of patients, and the manner in which organization is communicated to patients and between healthcare professionals, an idea that is supported by other researchers including Hancock (1999) and Lee, Buse &Fustukian (2002). The policies and procedures should include guidance about the hierarchy in the healthcare organization so subordinates know who to turn to in the event of problems. Himmelstein & Woolhandler (1990) take a Marxist view of healthcare policy creation, suggesting healthcare as a system has become capitalistic in nature, which is not congruent with current humanitarian preferences among members of
Contemporary systems and healthcare organizations have at their disposal more information and technology than ever before in the past. The researchers also note that lack of communication, as hypothesized by the researcher, is often the cause for conflict and disagreement about the purposes or intents of any given health policy. There is clear evidence in the literature that many different views exist on how health policies actually affect the people directly influenced by the policy. More emphasis should be placed on creating educational channels that people can tap into to find out what policies are available to them, whether they are up for review and how those policies will affect them in the short-term and in the long-term. They suggests "small scare owners like doctors" initially cam to "workshops (hospitals)" to provide healthcare for individuals in their community. Lee, Buse & Fustukian (2002) note that health policies, once initiated, must be communicated to all peoples the health policy may involve. Hancock (1999) suggests that before health policies are initiated certain questions must be asked including those that define the health policy and its benefits, and those that ascertain whether the health policy will influence the healthcare body or system in a positive or negative way. Other policies are more capitalistic in nature, serving the healthcare organization by lowering costs and providing incentives to individuals that are willing to work to help reduce overhead and increase capital for the healthcare organization. Policies like this also allow the consumer the opportunity to decline or to fail to accept the protections offered by a policy. Some policies are created to be purely humanistic, meaning their goal is to improve the health and wellness of the people directly influenced by the policy. This is because many policies in the healthcare system focus on economic factors, like conservation of supplies, or reduction of staff to keep overhead costs low, especially as healthcare insurance costs rise and fewer people have the means with which to pay for healthcare services (Himmelstein & Woolhandler 14). A good example is the HIPPA legislation that recently passed (Lee, Buse & Fustukian, 2002). Health policies as some suggest are often dependent on societal and economic, as well as political conditions (Hancock, 1999) as evidenced in contemporary society where many healthcare policies seem to be created to preserve capital and maintain the economy or agenda of a politician rather than provide for the people working in healthcare or the patients they treat. Communication is the key to understanding, and the best way to implement policies that will improve healthcare organizations and the systems run by them.
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