Healthcare

            What is healthcare?

Health care refers to the efforts that medical professionals make to restore our physical and mental well-being. The term also includes the provision of services to maintain emotional well-being. We call people and organizations that provide these services ‘health-care providers.’ We call the people either health-care workers, health-care providers, health-care professionals, or health professionals.

The term also applies to the organized provision of medical care to humans or a communities.

            Different types of health care.       

The range of home health care services a patient can receive at home is limitless. Depending on the individual patient's situation, care can range from nursing care to specialized medical services, such as laboratory workups. You and your doctor will determine your care plan and services you may need at home. At-home care services may include

1  :Doctor service

A doctor may visit a patient at home to diagnose and treat the illness(es). He or she may also periodically review the home health care needs.

2  :Nursing care

The most common form of home health care is some type of nursing care depending on the person's needs. In consultation with the doctor, a registered nurse will set up a plan of care. Nursing care may include wound dressing, ostomy care, intravenous therapy, administering medication, monitoring the general health of the patient, pain control, and other health support.

3  :Physical, occupational,and/or speech therpy

Some patients may need help relearning how to perform daily duties or improve their speech after an illness or injury. A physical therapist can put together a plan of care to help a patient regain or strengthen use of muscles and joints. An occupational therapist can help a patient with physical, developmental, social, or emotional disabilities relearn how to perform such daily functions as eating, bathing, dressing, and more. A speech therapist can help a patient with impaired speech regain the ability to communicate clearly.

 4  :Medical social services

Medical social workers provide various services to the patient, including counseling and locating community resources to help the patient in his or her recovery. Some social workers are also the patient's case manager--if the patient's medical is condition is very complex and requires coordination of many services.

 5  :Care from healt home aides

Home health aides can help the patient with his or her basic personal needs such as getting out of bed, walking, bathing, and dressing. Some aides have received specialized training to assist with more specialized care under the supervision of a nurse.

 6  :Homemaker or basic assistance Care

While a patient is being medically cared for in the home, a homemaker or person who helps with chores or tasks can maintain the household with meal preparation, laundry, grocery shopping, and other housekeeping items.

 7  :Companionship

Some patients who are home alone may require a companion to provide comfort and supervision. Some companions may also perform household duties.

 8  :Volunteer  care

Volunteers from community organizations can provide basic comfort to the patient through companionship, helping with personal care, providing transportation, emotional support, and/or helping with paperwork.

 9  :Nutritional support

Dietitians can come to a patient's home to provide dietary assessments and guidance to support the treatment plan.

 10  :Laboratory and X-ray imaging

Certain laboratory tests, such as blood and urine tests, can be performed in the comfort of the patient's home. In addition, portable X-ray machines allow lab technicians to perform this service at home.

 11  :Pharma ceutical services

Medicine and medical equipment can be delivered at home. If the patient needs it, training can be provided on how to take medicines or use of the equipment, including intravenous therapy.

 12  :Transportation

There are companies that provide transportation to patients who require transportation to and from a medical facility for treatment or physical exams.

 13  :Home delivery meals

Often called Meals-on-Wheels, many communities offer this service to patients at home who are unable to cook for themselves. Depending on the person's needs, hot meals can be delivered several times a week

           Healthcare Advantages.       

Health Care Advantage is an innovative new service guiding Medicare recipients as they navigate their search for doctors dedicated to seniors. Through free, one-on-one conversations, we help empower older adults to reevaluate their current health care experiences and discover the way health care should be.

 

Our partner practices take a complete, holistic approach to each patient, coordinating all aspects of their health care. As a result, they are able to offer longer, more frequent appointment times and shorter wait times at the doctor’s office, often without costing the patient more. 

Not only do seniors end up spending more time with their doctors, they are assigned a dedicated team to help coordinate insurances, monitor medications and make sure they are supported in their journey toward better overall wellness. We believe patients deserve to be heard, understood and respected – and to leave the doctor’s office feeling comfortable with their care plan. 

Health Care Advantage is not endorsed by Medicare and is not an insurance agent or agency. Health Care Advantage provides marketing services for value-based health organizations. Medicare has neither reviewed nor endorsed this information.

    Why is healthcare so important?

Without access to healthcare, people are far more at risk. Diseases, malnutrition, pregnancy – all can become incredibly dangerous without proper help and support

In Syria, many people are fleeing the ongoing conflict, living their lives on the road as refugees attempting to escape the country. This means that they do not have access to any medical supplies, which for pregnant women and young children, in particular, can be especially harmful.

The hospitals and medical centres which do remain open are full to capacity, with patients in need of urgent care overflowing as healthcare professionals struggle to cope with the influx of patients and a severe shortage of essential medical supplies.

Here at Muslim Aid, we are dedicated to doing all that we can to improve the quality of life for the people of Syria; we are committed to easing their suffering and helping out wherever we can. We also recognise the importance of healthcare, realising how fortunate we are to have easy access to medical supplies and a world-class healthcare system.

   Healthcare improvement tips:

coordination, efficiency, and cost-cutting are underway and care redesign initiatives are being evaluated to guide future healthcare quality improvements. The following tips may aid you in your healthcare improvement efforts.

1 Analyze your data and outcomes

As noted management expert, Peter Drucker, famously said, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it.” Before you can begin to make improvements in health care, you first need to know what opportunities exist for improvement and then establish baseline outcomes. Next, look at trends and statistics from electronic health records, outcomes studies, and other data source to identify key areas in need of improvement.

Escalating costs have drawn attention to the need for quality improvement in US health care.

2. Set goals

Based on findings from the above exercise, set concrete and measurable goals in the areas you identify as most in need of improvement. These should be precise and quantitative in nature. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) outlined six aims for improvement, or pillars of quality healthcare that can guide your improvement goal-setting. According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), healthcare should be:

Safe: Avoid injuries to patients from the care that is intended to help them.

Effective: Match care to science; avoid overuse of ineffective care and underuse of effective care.

Patient centered: Honour individual and respect choice.

Timely: Reduce waiting for both patients and those who give care.

Efficient: Reduce waste.

Equitable: Close racial and ethnic gaps in health status.

3  Create a balanced team

An effective team should be comprised of members from different backgrounds, with varied skills and experience levels. According to the IHI, forming a balanced team is one of the primary steps in the improvement process. The team should include a senior leader who can advise, provide oversight, and advocate for the team; a clinical expert who has the background necessary to make informed clinical decisions; and a project manager who can accomplish day-to-day tasks and keep the team on track.

4  Include human factors inputs

As defined by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, human factors is a body of knowledge about human abilities, human limitations, and other characteristics that are relevant to design. Human factors engineering is the application of human factors information to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for safe, comfortable, and effective human use. These relate closely to quality improvement.

Some key human factors principles include avoiding reliance on memory, standardizing procedures, and using protocols and checklists. According to theNational Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, consideration of human factors in the design of healthcare systems and processes has many benefits, including more efficient care processes, enhanced communication between medical providers, better understanding of a patient’s medical condition, reduced risk of medical device and health IT-related errors, improved patient outcomes, and cost-savings.

5 create an executable plan

To accomplish your goals in a timely and effective manner, you must create an achievable improvement plan. This includes specific measures, protocols for attaining those measurements, and specific definitions for improvement which will be taken from your goal setting and data analysis work. Be sure to have an organized system for tracking your data and measurements. The Health Resources and Services Administration provides detailed instructions and steps to developing and implementing a healthcare quality improvement plan on their website. You can also view our guide on project management for healthcare professionals.

6 Become Familiar with PDSA cycle

The IHI recommends the use of the Model for Improvement as a framework to guide improvement efforts. According to IHI, the model, developed by Associates in Process Improvement, is “a simple, yet powerful tool for accelerating improvement.” The core of the model is the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, to test quality or improvement-related changes in clinical settings. By planning then enacting a change, observing results, and then acting on what is learned, one is able to discern which changes are effective. This cycle essentially mimics the steps of the scientific method, but is adapted for action-oriented learning

7 communicate goals and Progress

Once your plan is underway, be sure to communicate with your team and with your organization at large. Share milestones both large and small as well as setbacks. Congratulate those who have contributed and made an impact on your progress. Your plan is more likely to succeed when staff are engaged.

8 Research other Organizations and collaborate

Certain websites such as Patient Care Link allow consumers and healthcare industry workers to view hospital data and trends. Review data and see which organizations excel in a particular area in which you’re looking to improve. Research online and in the literature, and reach out to see if you can learn from their quality improvement programs. Most organizations are open to sharing this information for the greater good of patients.

  Conclusion

Health care is moving into the home increasingly often and involving a mixture of people, a variety of tasks, and a broad diversity of devices and technologies; it is also occurring in a range of residential environments. The factors driving this migration include the rising costs of providing health care; the growing numbers of older adults; the increasing prevalence of chronic disease; improved survival rates of various diseases, injuries, and other conditions (including those of fragile newborns); large numbers of veterans returning from war with serious injuries; and a wide range of technological innovations. The health care that results varies considerably in its safety, effectiveness, and efficiency, as well as its quality and cost.

The committee was charged with examining this major trend in health care delivery and resulting challenges from only one of many perspectives: the study of human factors. From the outset it was clear that the dramatic and evolving change in health care practice and policies presents a broad array of opportunities and problems. Consequently the committee endeavored to maintain focus specifically on how using the human factors approach can provide solutions that support maximizing the safety and quality of health care delivered in the home while empowering both care recipients and caregivers in the effort.