US Healthcare Quality Standards

For the healthy and long life, people need high-quality health services. Healthcare in the United States is a priority area of the government’s interests. The health system research and other aspects of healthcare are at a premium. It means that this field is constantly evolving and rapidly changing. The United States of America has a leading position in the world in the sphere of healthcare, but this position does not relieve the country from grave problems in healthcare. Reforms in this system have occupied a primary goal in the preelection promises of all the presidents. The understanding of the Care Quality Commission includes the tight connection of the three components. These components are the payment for healthcare services, quality of services, and compliance to the standards of the community. The safety and quality of the treatment process are dependent on the process of standardization of healthcare and training of the doctors. The development of standards in the healthcare field is continuously updating throughout the world. It is based on the balance of the cost and benefit. Therefore, it is important to explore the nexus between the payment for healthcare services, quality of services, and compliance to the standards of the community.

The United States is the only world’s advanced industrial country without a universal health care system. About 84% of citizens have health insurance, and employers provide health insurance to 64% of the citizens.  Respective government programs let receive medical assistance for the people with disabilities, children, veterans, low-income people and provide emergency assistance to all residents regardless of their ability to pay for it. More than 45% of the costs in the health system are to finance these government programs, and thus, the U.S. government is the largest insurer of the nation. American medical care, in general, is the best in the world (Giaimo, 2016). It is the most expensive one, but it has the highest quality and is the most efficient. Such status is achieved by incredible devices, highly qualified doctors, medical institutions support, and enormous research work. Public expenditure on medicine exceeds defense spending. However, even more money is spent on healthcare. Most of the funds are greater than government spending. These are private money and the money of customers who accumulate health insurance companies by paying them and all those who work in the medical industry.

The U.S. healthcare has also disappointing statistics. Every year, more than 18,000 Americans die because they have no health insurance, and they are unable to pay for medical care. There is a non-governmental organization that conducts independent expertise in the medical field for the US Congress – the Institute of Medicine. According to the study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, uninsured people who have discovered breast cancer are 50% more likely to die in comparison with insured citizens (Schulte, 2013). If an individual does not have the insurance but needs to get to the doctor, the cost of this visit will be different. Without insurance, the average patient (for example, with an annual income of $ 40,000 – $ 50,000) may not be able to pay for surgery. An ordinary appendicitis will cost thousands of dollars. Therefore, insurance is vital. With the help of it, the same appendicitis can cost less. Usually, the employer offers a package of benefits to employees where insurance occupies a central place.

Even though prices in healthcare are high, there is a good result in the rate of medical care. The duration of American life is one of the longest in the world. For instance, at the age of 70, a person who knows that they have twenty years yet to live can even enter university or get married if they are single. First of all, the U.S. medicine is the world leader in the field of transplantation. This criterion becomes particularly relevant in the case of complex types of operations in this area. For example, the heart and lungs transplantation is considered one of the most successful. The treatment of oncological diseases occupies the second position. Furthermore, U.S. healthcare has significant achievements in cardiology, neurosurgery, and orthopedics (International Business Publications, 2015). Thus, almost all healthcare branches in the United States are well-developed and have qualified professionals and modern equipment. Medical institutions can boast the high level of service. Virtually any such establishment provides translation services to foreign patients speaking different languages.

It is worth mentioning that American healthcare and the issue of health insurance are frequently debated; people vary in their opinions. One group of the U.S. citizens firmly believes in versatility and high quality of healthcare, and another group argues about its imperfections and shortcomings. As a rule, the latter opinion is based on the fact that the high-quality equipment and the most advanced technologies in medical field have a mismatch between the quality of health services and the volume of financing of this sector (Austin, Bentkover, & Chait, 2016). Nevertheless, in general, the U.S. health service meets the main standards of health care in the world.

A fundamental condition for the development of internal standards of the health service quality lies in following the regulatory requirements of the state legislation. The state health care system can set the necessary standards. In a separate medical facility, a particular organization may also lay down some rules. It is essential to take into account individual circumstances of the examination of health entity, although a certain proportion of subjectivity cannot be excluded. At the same time, healthcare standards can be set from the foreign experience and estimates of public organizations, doctors, and problems existing in the services of individual health facilities.

The standards of health services have many advantages in everyday life of medical institutions, but these standards do not always adopt specific conditions. It is necessary to take into account new laws, regulations, orders, protocols, and other legal instruments. Standards can be developing both for the structure of healthcare facilities and for the process of medical care. Standardization can simplify the introduction of new services because the planning of actions allows explaining internal requirements in detail (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2016). The implementation of standards and quality system certification enable to identify inefficiencies in the medical organization. Thus, the healthcare system can improve the efficiency of resources use, establish responsibility for each of them, and carry out the structuring of production processes. Set standards help build limpid technological schemes and, most importantly, significantly improve the quality of medical services.

In conclusion, there is a tight and vivid connection between the payment for healthcare services and the quality of medical care. The latest equipment and highly qualified specialists require substantial funds. However, the results are worth it. American healthcare meets all international standards. The USA is rightly considered the country with the most advanced medicine. Therefore, people should not spare money for their health. It is the case when the quality justifies the price. State activities in the field of healthcare management are objectively necessary. In the case where the medical institution sets its standards, they must comply with national and international standards for sure. There may be different opinions and debates about American healthcare field. Nevertheless, it is considered the best and the highest quality service in the world. The prosperous American nation is the indicator of its well-developed health services.