HCA430 Final Project
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Wk3AssgnHCA430Lisa.docx
Assessment of Community-Level Barriers
Prepare a recap of the model program for your community that you originally shared in the week 2 written assignment. As stated in the Week Two directions, changes to the potential program can be made as you research and develop the focus of the program.
The model program was offering Free Medicare and Medicaid to individuals affected with HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS patients would be included in the Medicare programs for free because it was noted that they wouldn't access various jobs due to their health status. Poor individuals living with the disease would have their hospital bills covered without being required to provide their employment details for the deduction of health expenses. The program would be special for those living with HIV/AIDS, and it would also include counseling sessions to help HIV patients deal with issues such as depression. It would also encourage as many individuals as possible to enroll due to the benefits associated with it.
Analyze and discuss at least three critical barriers that impact the health and well-being of your chosen group; one must be a micro-level (individual) barrier that is financial, one must be a macro-level (community/state) barrier that relates to access and funding for care, and the third barrier may be one of your choosing.
A critical barrier at the individual level is the lack of adequate money to pay for medical services. Most HIV/AIDS patients are jobless, therefore, they cannot afford to pay for the medical services. The support programs such as Medicare fail to provide adequate financial support or to cater for all healthcare services. HIV/AIDS patients also lack financial support from their families (Wachira et al, 2014). The need basic needs and housing which must be provided by someone else if they are unemployed.
AIDS patients may also lack adequate funds to manage their condition because of a lack of support from social organizations. Support organizations may fail to provide adequate support to individuals living with HIV/AIDS even though they are mostly unemployed or unable to do various tasks. “Financial problems prevent infected people from seeking treatment” (Tobias et al, 2017). Some tests done at the hospital and services that are crucial to such HIV/AIDS patients may not reach them because of their high costs.
The community level-barriers include the financial capabilities of community members. The financial capability of community members is critical because they are the ones to support community organizations that support HIV/AIDS patients in the community. Some communities may be faced with poverty, therefore, it is difficult for the community members to afford healthcare services if they get sick.
Another barrier that is faced by HIV/AIDS patients is the transportation barrier. They have to find a means to travel from their homes to hospitals or healthcare centers. Individuals living with HIV/AIDS must also visit hospitals frequently, and this increases the transportation costs to be incurred. HIV patients may not have vehicles or may be unable to fuel their cars because of inadequate funds (Tobias et al, 2017). They may, therefore, be unable to reach the healthcare centers.
Discuss at least one proposed solution for each barrier. Your solution for the micro barrier must include an analysis of various potential funding options (both independent and integrated). Your solution for the macro barrier must include an analysis of financing resources for health care.
One of the solutions for inadequate funds among HIV patients is to give them a monthly stipend that would enable every patient to cater to their personal needs. There should be a record of HIV patients that would be used to identify the specific financial difficulties faced by various HIV patients. For instance, some patients may lack housing while others lack basic needs such as access to proper food. All individuals should have their specific financial challenges addressed (Mahajan et al, 2018). For instance, those without access to healthy foods should have the foods delivered to them by social associations. Individuals may obtain funds from the National Institute of Health and the US Department of Health.
The solution for low financial capabilities among community members and those living with HIV would be to provide insurance to every community member. This would be a way of encouraging the poor communities to save funds and stay ready for diseases such as HIV that could strike them. It would also fund HIV patients since they have many needs and are unable to continue working (Tobias et al, 2017). Social organizations may also pay for healthcare services for HIV patients.
The recommended solution for the transportation barrier would be to provide transport for those who HIV patients. There should be vehicles that are always ready to pick up patients who cannot pay for transportation costs. Patients may be required to submit their physical contacts to ensure that they are picked up in time whenever they need to visit the hospitals.
Research and analyze the regulatory, legal, ethical, and accreditation requirements and issues for the service(s) offered in your proposed program. Discuss how each will impact the management of the program.
The regulatory requirements for organizations that provide managed care to HIV patients include the fact that they must provide quality healthcare. They must also ensure that medical errors are reduced and patient safety is addressed. Healthcare organizations must be licensed to provide healthcare services to patients (Jacobson, 2011). The licensing bodies are required to continuously examine healthcare professionals to ensure that they stick to safety practices.
The ethical requirements for social associations and healthcare professionals include being honest with each other and being transparent. Healthcare professionals should not exaggerate the healthcare costs incurred by HIV patients. They should also be transparent with accrediting bodies and industry regulators (Jacobson, 2011). The social organizations should always pay for healthcare costs of HIV patients as per the terms without fraud.
Social organizations should be committed to patient safety just like healthcare organizations. The licensing bodies should ensure that they offer training on the certification requirements. Organizations such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) should ensure that all organizations that are funded by communities for catering for healthcare expenses of HIV patients are legit.
The model program for catering for healthcare expenses of HIV patients will have to ensure that its activities are transparent. Those who work for the program also have to undergo training to understand patient safety.
REFERENCES
Jacobson, P. D. (2011). Regulating Health Care: From Self-Regulation to Self-Regulation?. Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, 26(5), 1165-1177.
Mahajan, A. P., Sayles, J. N., Patel, V. A., Remien, R. H., Ortiz, D., Szekeres, G., & Coates, T. J. (2018). Stigma in the HIV/AIDS epidemic: a review of the literature and recommendations for the way forward. AIDS (London, England), 22(Suppl 2), S67.
Tobias, C. R., Cunningham, W., Cabral, H. D., Cunningham, C. O., Eldred, L., Naar-King, S., ... & Drainoni, M. L. (2017). Living with HIV but without medical care: barriers to engagement. AIDS patient care and STDs, 21(6), 426-434.
