The second area involves faster application of scientific knowledge to the practice of medicine. Currently, there is a very big time gap between the development of new medical procedures and medicine, and their actual use in medical practice. According to Larson (2007), this time frame takes an average of seventeen years, and is a major challenge to health care provision. Families USA helps achieve this objective through publishing respected health reports on the latest medical procedures which have been developed.
This enables both physicians and patients to acquire knowledge, which may be used to treat diseases and conditions more effectively. The third area involves the alignment of the payment policies, with improvement in the quality of health care. Payment is one of the most important factors which influence the behavior of both patients and health care providers. Challenges in cost make patients seek inferior courses of treatment and hinder the providers from implementing effective treatment methods and policies.
In order to solve this challenge, Families USA advocates for cost of health care to be reduced considerably, so that patients do not seek inferior treatment choices. This organization acts as a watchdog over the government and criticizes any wastage or inefficiency in health care, thereby improving the quality of health care in the US. This not only helps improve health care services, but it also reduces the wastage and inefficiency by the government.
The fourth area is the motivation of the workforce and improving the relationships between them and the patients. Employees in the medical field are sometimes burdened and overworked, especially when they are in internship. They have very few hours of rest, and this affects the quality of health care they provide to patients. It is important to motivate such employees through provision of adequate salaries and improvement of their working conditions so that they may provide high quality services.
It is also important to improve the relationship between patients and hospital staff in order to foster trust between the two. Families USA advocates for reasonable remuneration for employees in the medical field which is commensurate to the level of care they provide. It also writes reports after studying the working conditions of staff in various hospitals, and comes up with recommendations on how to improve the working environment. Since this is a respectable organization, these recommendations are considered very carefully by the relevant authorities.
Conclusion and recommendation. There are many challenges which face the health care sector in the US, and acts as a barrier to access of health care services by Americans. Some of the issues have been discussed, and it has been seen that Families USA play a crucial role in improving the health care services. More organizations should come up and play a role in transmission of new knowledge in the field of medicine, as well as act as a watchdog to the government in order to reduce any excesses and wastage.
It is however important to note that there are numerous other challenges facing the health care sector, but they could not be discussed conclusively. It is the responsibility of the government and the private sector to ensure that health care services are accessible and affordable to all. References. American Nurses Association (2008). ANA statement on Senator John McCain’s health care plan during cover the uninsured week. Retrieved January 18, 2009 from <http://www. nursingworld.
org/>. Bush, H. (2007). Florida Forecast: Partly Cloudy. Hospitals & Health Networks. Retrieved January 18, 2009 from <http://proquest. umi. com/pqdweb? did=1403605751&cfc=>. Haber, D. (2007). Health Promotion and Aging: Practical Applications for Health Professionals. New York: Springer Publishing. Kronenfeld, J. J. (2002). Health Care Policy: Issues and Trends. Washington: Greenwood Publishing Group. Larson, C. A. (2007). Alternative Medicine. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.