In this writing assignment, you will describe the current 21st century role of U.S. hospitals. Step 1: Write a two to three page paper describing the current role of hospitals in the United States. In your paper, respond to the following questions. Briefly describe the history of hospitals in the United States. Briefly discuss the major changes hospitals have experienced over the past 20 years. Discuss how these changes have affected the delivery of health care in the United States. Step 2: Save and submit your assignment. When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself in an easily accessible place and submit a copy to your instructor. Cite any sources in APA format.
The Current Roles of Hospitals
During the nineteenth century, there were only a handful of hospitals in America, and they
were mainly used by the mentally disabled and poor people who could not work and had no one to take care of them at home. The wealthy, on the other hand, were able to afford home-based care and, therefore, did not see the need for hospitals. Besides, there were barely any medical advancements, and physicians could not do much besides hacking off limbs and using morphine for sedation. The first American government funded hospital was founded in 1751, namely the Pennsylvania Hospital. Two individuals responsible for this hospital were Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond (FRIDOL1N, n.d). By the late nineteenth century, American society had become progressively industrialized, and as such, the medical practices followed suit, becoming more sophisticated. This resulted in the professionalization of medical practices, and ultimately, a competitive market for medical services was created.
Hospitals have experienced numerous significant changes over the past twenty years. One example of this major change is the implementation of healthcare analytics. Health analytics utilizes both historical and up-to-date data to produce actionable insights, improve decision-making, and boost the results in the industry (Dash, Shakyawar, Sharma & Kaushik, 2019). All these advancements then not only benefit the healthcare organization but also ensure that patient’s experiences are improved as well as their health outcomes. In addition, health analytics brought about predictive analytics, which basically identifies past trends and uses that data to predict future outcomes. These analytics play a huge role in helping identify a patient’s risk for developing an illness, reduce readmissions, and update treatment options. An example of predictive analytics is identifying a patient’s probability of developing diabetes in the future by using machine learning methods (Chou, Hsu & Chou, 2023).
Another significant change that took place in the medical industry over the past two decades is the transition from paper records to Electronic Health records. According to statistics, by 2017, approximately ninety percent of hospitals in America had adopted the electronic health records system (Tsai et al., 2020). Initially, hospitals would have to jump through hoops in order to get the medical records of a patient, especially if the patient constantly moves between numerous healthcare organizations. However, with an electronic records system, these organizations can electronically query the records of a patient, and there are automatic notifications sent to primary care doctors when their patients are admitted to the emergency room. Further electronic data has ensured that a lot of the risks and challenges that paper records face are eliminated. Such challenges include getting lost in storage and damage by water or other elements, and they are easily accessible with the click of a button.
The Affordable Healthcare Act is yet another significant change that took place in hospitals over the past twenty years. This is arguably one of the most notable changes in healthcare policy since 1965, when Medicaid and Medicare were implemented. This act introduced the coverage of preexisting conditions on the insurance, which was a huge benefit to all Americans. In addition, the insurance also covers preventive services as well as screening. All these aim to help patients become more active in taking care of their health, which in the long run prevents major health issues as well as saving them time and money. Lastly, telemedicine is another area that has seen significant growth in the 21st century. With incredible innovations in the tech industry, the distribution of health services and information via electronic devices has also drastically improved.
References
Chou, C. Y., Hsu, D. Y., & Chou, C. H. (2023). Predicting the onset of diabetes with machine learning methods. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 13(3), 406.
Dash, S., Shakyawar, S. K., Sharma, M., & Kaushik, S. (2019). Big data in healthcare: management, analysis and future prospects. Journal of big data, 6(1), 1-25.
FRIDOL1N THOMA, B. Some of the Leading Men and Events in the History of American Medicine.
Tsai, C. H., Eghdam, A., Davoody, N., Wright, G., Flowerday, S., & Koch, S. (2020). Effects of electronic health record implementation and barriers to adoption and use: a scoping review and qualitative analysis of the content. Life, 10(12), 327.