Collaboration to Improve Health System essay 
Abstract
The health care system of the United States has various challenges and shortcomings. This calls for the dire need for all the stakeholders of the health care system to work in collaboration in order to improve the quality and value of health therefore improving the health care system. In this regard, for the citizens of the United States to have an enjoyment of optimal health both as an individual or the population at large, they should benefit from high quality services in health care that are effectively and efficiently coordinated within a public health system that is strong. Therefore, there should be effective collaboration of all the stakeholders of the health care system with a view of ensuring that there is the provision of quality health care services to the population of the United States. All organizations of healthcare, professional groups as well as the public and private purchasers and any other health care stakeholders should progressively decrease the illness, injury and disability burdens in order to improve the functioning of the population of the United States in addition to their health consequently improving the health system.
Introduction
The production of quality healthcare is a result of the cooperation between the providers of health care and the patient in an environment that is supportive. Personal factors of the health care providers and patient, the factors that concern the organization of health care, the health care system and its broader environment affect the quality of healthcare delivery. It is vital for all stakeholders such as the government, hospitals, nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and even the patient population to collaborate effectively to ensure that the healthcare system is improved toward the positive direction for maximum benefit. The purpose of this paper is to explicate the view that the quality of the healthcare system could be improved through visionary leadership, appropriate planning, education and training, effective resource management and positive collaboration and cooperation between the different providers of health care services.
An Overview of the Health Care System of the United States
The health care system in the United States faces significant challenges. These challenges provide a clear indication that the health care system needs to be improved. It is mind boggling that 46 million of the American population is uninsured. On the other hand, the insured Americans face premiums that increase rapidly. In addition, most American citizens especially those from low income areas do not have access to quality care despite the fact that the United States invests huge sums of money in providing for health care. Preventive care is basically underutilized, leading to higher spending on diseases that are complex and advanced. Patients with chronic such as hypertension and heart disease fail to receive treatments that are proven and effective including drug therapies and self-management. These problems are also exacerbated by the in availability of coordination for the patients with chronic diseases. To add on, numerous patients fail to receive the required medical care while others end up receiving medical care that is harmful. The tremendous variation in the length of stays in hospital inpatient, varying lengths of visits to specialists as well as varying procedures of testing and costs in the United States.
There is also limited evidence on the procedures and treatments that are most effective besides limited evidence on the manner in which patients should be informed on the effectiveness of various treatments. The failure of detecting and reducing errors further contributes to the gap in both the quality of care and the efficiency of care. Improving the healthcare system to bring improvements to the quality of health care and the value of health care is crucial in escalating poor quality services in health care. The improvements should lead to increased access to the right type of care at the most appropriate time and in an appropriate setting. The improvements should be thoughtfully constructed so as to keep individuals healthy and prevent complication illnesses that are avoidable. The improvements should also lead to an increased number of Americans who are insured and lead to a reduction in the rate of chronic illnesses. In this respect, all the stakeholders involved in the health care system of the United States such as health care providers, nurses, physicians, patients and the state and federal governments have various roles to play collaboratively in order to improve the health care system.
Collaboration for Improvement
The collaboration of stakeholders in the improvement of the health system will emanate from every stakeholder performing their required roles impeccably with a view of promoting healthcare outcomes. The contribution of every stakeholder goes a long way into bringing even more positive results into the healthcare system while at the same time leading to the attainment of the set goals. Therefore, collaboration stands out when all stakeholders have clearly defined roles as explicated below.
The Role of Nurses in Improving the Health System
The profession of nursing has the potential of bringing a wide variety of improvements to the system of health care. The regular and close proximity of nurses to the patients and the scientific understanding of the processes of care provide to them a unique ability of acting as partners with the other professionals of health care besides leading in the improvement and the redesigning of the system of health care and its environment of practice such as hospitals, centers of public health, schools and community health care facilities. Nurses therefore have the responsibility of helping to bridge the gap that exists between coverage of health care services and the access to health care services. They are also responsible for coordinating the complex care to the increasing wide variety of patients and also to fulfill their intrinsic potential as providers of primary care while putting into practice their education and training. Nurses are also important in preventing errors in medication, reducing infection rates and leading in the facilitation of patients transition from the hospitals to their homes.
Consequently, as a way of engaging in collaboration to improve health system, nurses should engage in practicing to their full potential as far as their education and training is concerned. In addition, nurses should fully partner with physicians and all other professionals in health care in redesigning the health care system in the united state. Strong leadership is very crucial in transforming the system of health care. Therefore, the profession of nursing should produce effective leaders throughout the system of health care. These leaders should consequently partner fully with other stakeholders in the health care profession to contribute to the delivery of quality health care services with a view of improving the health system.
They should also engage themselves in effective and efficient workforce planning apart from policy making that require data collection that is enhanced and information structure that is improved. Bringing improvements to the system of health care basically requires the balance of skills in addition to perspectives among health care professionals such as physicians and nurses. In this respect nurses should consider having an understanding of the effects of bundled payments and the technology of health information. To add on, nurses should also, achieve education and training levels that are elevated through an improved system of education that promotes academic progression that is seamless. Major improvements in the health care system of the unites states and health care practice environment will require the collaboration of the government and medical training institutions to improve the education system in order to ensure that both the current generation of nurses and the future generation of nurses have the capability of delivering quality health care services that are safe and patient centered.
The Role of Health Care Delivery System in Improving the Health System
Basically, the role of health care providers in improving the health care system is improving quality and lowering the cost of health care services. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has come up with various initiatives in order to improve the health care system of the United States. CMS collaborates with hospitals, patients and other providers of health care with a view of improving the health care system. To begin with, the CMS has progressively strengthened the Medicaid program and the Medicare program for the American population while implementing changes that lead to improvements in the quality of health care services. Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the health care delivery system aims at investing in innovation to improve the health care system. The key factor in building a health care system that is sustainable is the coming up with innovations and improvements in the manner in which health care is delivered. Therefore, CMS has engaged in innovations and improvement by changing the payment system of hospitals and the programs in Medicare Advantage which will result into quality care and coordination.
Furthermore, the CMS aims at preventing costly and complicated conditions. In this regard, collaborates with patients and the general public towards improving the quality, safety health care affordability for all Americans. Collaborating with patients brings together key leaders of major hospitals, nurses, employers, patient advocates in addition to State and Federal governments in sharing efforts to ensure safer hospital care therefore improving the health care system.
The Role of Patients in Improving the Health Care System
Patients in the united state can also play a huge role in improving the health care system. Provided the fact that patients have the first hand experience in regard to various illnesses and chronic information, they can work in collaboration with health care providers to provide vital information in regard to the illnesses and sicknesses. They should provide first hand information in regard to the symptoms of the diseases. Patients should also make sure that they are collaborating with the government in improving the health care system by supporting the efforts of the government in lowering the costs of treatment to the most vulnerable population. Therefore, the patients should enroll themselves in the Medicare and Medicare programs that ensure the provision of quality health care services.
They should also participate in the governments education and training programs that facilitate improving the health care system. They should also support the community based efforts that promote the provision of appropriate and quality treatment in health care. They should also ensure that they visit health care centers and hospitals when ill. This will improve the health care system of the United States because the American population will be safe from diseases. They should also work with health care centers and hospitals as well as health care community based organizations in the prevention of communicable diseases in addition to the diseases that are chronic by engaging in practices that promote health safety therefore promoting the improvement of the health care system.
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The Role of the State and Federal Government in Improving the Health Care System
The state and federal governments have various roles that contribute to improving the health care system. These roles improve the quality of the health care system and the delivery of health care services in the United States. To begin with, there are various federal actions that can be taken to decrease medical errors and at the same time improve the safety of patients. The responsibility of the government is to work in the protection and advancement of the societys interests. Therefore, it is vital for the government to provide effective health care services to its population and ensure that the vulnerable populations have access safe and quality health care . More so, the government should also stand up and offer clear regulations to markets that deal with health care apart from monitoring the quality of health care provision. It should also take up the task of convening the health care stakeholders with a view of having discussions and suggestions on the various ways of improving the health care system. In addition, it would also be relevant for the government to develop the workforce that is concerned with the provision of health care services. it should also support efforts that lead to the acquisition of new knowledge in regard to health care service delivery and provision. The government should also conduct an evaluation of the technologies and practices in the provision of health care services. Particularly, the federal governments, the local governments and the state government will have to work in collaboration to ensure that the health care system is improved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the health care system of the United States in faced with challenges that can only be addressed if the system is improved. In this respect, there should be the collaboration of the stakeholders involved in ensuring that there is the quality provision of health care services. The government can work in collaboration with major leaders of the health care system in order to come up with the most appropriate ways of making sure that improvement is witnessed in the health care system. Additionally, the government should also collaborate with nursing education and training centers to ensure that the nurses are effectively and adequately trained to deal with even chronic illnesses. Moreover, health care service providers can work in collaboration with patients to ensure that patients receive quality and valuable health services at decreased cost but at the same time improving the health care system.
