Healthcare Essay Example: Prioritization during Scarcity

Due to the economic recession, health care officials are faced with the dilemma of which medical intervention to prioritize in the backdrop of high intervention demand and low funds availability. The easiest way to rank healthcare needs is according to the death risk, should the intervention be ignored, followed by discomfort risk, and finally, cosmetic risk. This is demonstrated in the following ranking.

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Prioritization and Allocation of Funding

Open Heart Surgery

This ranking is based on the "favoring the worst off' criteria (Buchbinder, Shanks, & Buchbinder, 2013). For one to require open heart surgery, they must be in critical condition and therefore, they should be given the priority.

Kidney Transplant

Just like open-heart surgery, kidney transplantation is a lifesaving intervention and should be highly prioritized. Because a kidney transplant patient can wait a few months for surgery facilities to open up while surviving on dialysis (Living Kidney Donors Network, 2018), this intervention is ranked lower than open-heart surgery.

Cataract Treatments

Cataract treatment, just like open-heart surgery and kidney transplant is a major-organ intervention. Also, untreated cataracts are the leading cause of blindness (WHO, n.d.), and as such deserves to be ranked high on the priority list.

Hip Replacement

Arthritis, bone tumors, and bone deterioration are necessitating factors of hip replacement surgery. Because of the pain associated with these conditions, especially arthritis, hip replacement is ranked highly on the intervention list because it significantly improves a patient's quality of life.

Hernia Repair

While hernias are a significant cause of discomfort and involve major body organs, they are rarely life threatening. Therefore, this intervention is ranked slightly low on the priority list.

Diabetes Prevention Counseling Visit

Diabetes-related complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, and organ damage, only serve to increase pressure on inadequate medical facilities. By educating people on diabetes prevention, state officials can significantly reduce the number of patients requiring medical care in the future. Therefore, diabetes prevention counseling visits are ranked among the top five critical interventions.

Nutrition Counseling

Like diabetes prevention counseling, nutrition counseling helps to prevent future medical care scarcity because of too many feeding related diseases like diabetes, and cancer. Because nutrition information is more accessible to the public through schools and the internet, nutrition counseling is rated lower than diabetes prevention counseling.

Physical Therapy Session for Developmentally Disabled

While developmental disability is rarely life threatening, intervention is necessary to improve patients' quality of life by reducing their dependency. Therefore, this intervention is averagely ranked in the priority list.

Counseling session for mental illness

Like developmental disability, mental illness is rarely life threatening. Therefore, other crucial interventions can be prioritized before mentally ill patients receive counseling.

Visit for Smoking Cessation Program

Smoking is a conscious lifestyle choice that carries the risk of chronic diseases like cancer. In many countries, cigarette packets carry health warnings and therefore, smokers are well aware of the dangers that accompany smoking (Economic Times, 2017). As such, a smoking cessation program visit is not highly ranked on the priority list.

Pregnancy Check

Pregnancy tests are highly user-friendly and can be done at home. Therefore, this intervention is among the lowest ranked on the priority list.

Bunion Removal

Bunions rarely cause foot discomfort, and when discomfort is experienced, alternative interventions to surgery are available such as wearing well-fitting shoes and maintaining healthy body weight.

Surgery for Varicose Veins

This intervention is mostly cosmetic, and as such, it is the lowest ranked on the priority list.

Method for Product Evaluation to Eliminate Bias and Assure Collection of Accurate Data

As explained in case 34 regarding surgeons who were sexually influenced to offer a false sutures assessment, a lot of evaluation bias is sexually instigated. Therefore, facilities should use the following two-step method to ensure objectivity during product assessment exercises. First, institutions should adequately vet product representatives to ensure they are focused on approaching demonstrations and explanations to staff ethically (O'Barr, 2011). Second, the team participating in the product evaluation should be priory informed about the dangers of false assessment (such as endangering patient lives), and the methods that marketers use to influence opinion such as amorous tactics.

References

Buchbinder, S., Shanks, N.H., & Buchbinder, D. (2013). Cases in healthcare management. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Living Kidney Donors Network. (2018). The kidney transplant waiting list. Retrieved from http://www.lkdn.org/kidney_tx_waiting_list.html

O'Barr, W. (2011). Sex and Advertising. Advertising & Society Review, vol. 12, no. 2. Retrieved from Project MUSE database https://muse.jhu.edu/article/443593

The Economic Times. (2017). 9 in 10 smokers find it hard to quit despite being aware of serious health risks. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/9-in-10-smokers-find-it-hard-to-quit-despite-being-aware-of-serious-health-risks/articleshow/60055678.cms

WHO. (n.d.). Prevention of blindness and visual impairment blindness: Priority eye diseases. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/blindness/causes/priority/en/index1.html