What happens when people apply differential standards (all valid) to health care decisions?

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You are a paramedic arriving at an emergency scene. A group of scouts have entered a cave that is now filling with water. They were led into the cave by a rather large scoutmaster. Unfortunately, while leading them out of the cave, the scoutmaster somehow managed to get stuck in a narrow opening with only his head and shoulders protruding out. With his upper torso stuck outside the cave, it appears the scoutmaster will survive, but all the boys below will drown if they cannot escape.

After you have checked all possible escape routes and have attempted to extricate the scoutmaster, it becomes clear that the only way to save the boys is to sacrifice the scoutmaster and remove him from the hole so the rest of the scouts can escape.

What is the correct action for this case? Justify your decision using each of the following:

  • Duty-oriented reasoning (1 to 2 Paragraphs)
  • Consequence-oriented reasoning (1 to 2 Paragraphs)
  • Virtue-ethics reasoning (1 to 2 Paragraphs)

Based on your analysis, consider what might be the ultimate dilemma of ethics and include your answer to each of the following questions:

  • What happens when people apply differential standards (all valid) to health care decisions? Explain with supporting examples. (2 to 3 Paragraphs)
  • How does an individual determine who is ultimately right when different decisions are reached? (2 to 3 Paragraphs)

Your assignment will be graded in accordance with the following criteria. Click here to view the grading rubric.

Please submit your assignment.

The U.S. health care system has numerous known issues that affect the overall quality, access, and cost of services available

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The U.S. health care system has numerous known issues that affect the overall quality, access, and cost of services available. For your Final Paper, you will create an eight- to ten-page proposal (excluding the title and reference pages) on your solution to one of these issues. In the proposal, you will describe the nature of the issue, trace the history of its development, describe what has and has not been done to address it thus far, provide a set of recommendations on what should be done to address it in the future, and discuss how major stakeholders should be involved to make your proposed changes.

 

Select  the following issues in health care for the topic of your Final Paper:

  1. The health care workforce.

You are encouraged to break your proposal up into sections to be sure you address each of the questions below. Specifically, you should address the following in your proposal:

  1. Executive Summary: Introduce the topic that you chose. Provide a brief overview of content of your proposal.
  2. Statement of the problem: Clearly describe the topic that you chose. Define and explain the major problems related to this issue.
  3. History of the problem: Review the major developments in the evolution of this problem in the U.S. How did this issue develop historically? How did we get to where we are now?
  4. International context: Compare and contrast this problem in the U.S. to that of other countries. How does this issue in the U.S. compare to other countries? Is the issue more common here or in other countries and why?
  5. Stakeholders: Describe the role of major stakeholders in the problem. How have federal and state governments and the health care industry worked to address this issue so far? What have been the successes and failures of their attempts?
  6. Policy: Provide examples of how the P.P.A.C.A. and other federal policies have attempted to address this issue. What has been the impact of their action or non-action?
  7. Recommendations: Provide a set of recommendations on what should be done to address this issue in the future. What should the major stakeholders, such as the government, the health care industry, and health care consumers do to implement these recommendations and how? Provide a justification for why you believe each recommendation will address one or more of the problems related to this issue.
  8. Conclusion: Construct a brief conclusion that highlights the key points from your proposal and describes the expected outcomes if your recommendations were to be implemented.

 

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:

  1. Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
  2. Must include a title page with the following:
    1. Title of paper
    2. Student’s name
    3. Course name and number
    4. Instructor’s name
    5. Date submitted
  3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
  4. Must address each of the eight points listed above.
  5. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
  6. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
  7. Must use at least five scholarly sources, all of which must be from the Ashford University Library.
  8. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
  9. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Explains why quality and patient safety are important, particularly for this health care setting

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For this Application Assignment, you will consider quality and patient safety efforts for a particular type of organization.

To prepare for this Application Assignment:

  • Select a health care setting such as an acute care hospital, long-term care facility, or private clinic.
  • Consider the importance of quality and patient safety in this organization.
  • Consider the challenges to providing quality and patient safety in this organization.

To complete this Application Assignment, write a 2- to 3-page paper that:

  • Explains why quality and patient safety are important, particularly for this health care setting.
  • Identifies the key challenges regarding quality and/or patient safety for this setting.
  • Describes at least two strategies for improving and assuring quality and patient safety in this setting and explains why you chose these strategies.

Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct.

Consider how the traditional fee-for-service model affects the overall quality and profit margins of health care providers.

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The fee-for-service model of health care is neutral with regard to differences in the quality of health care. The pay-for-performance (P4P) model of health care attempts to set targets to measure quality care. If quality targets are met, providers are rewarded financially. This model is gaining increased popularity in both the public and private sectors. It is, however, not without its critics.

In this week’s Discussion, you and your colleagues will compare and contrast the pay-for-performance model and the fee-for-service model of health care.

To prepare for this Discussion:

  • Consider how the P4P model affects the overall quality and profit margin of health care.
  • Consider how the traditional fee-for-service model affects the overall quality and profit margins of health care providers.

Day 4, post a comprehensive response to the following:

  • What are the underlying goals of P4P and fee-for-service models?
  • Are there risks to patients in a P4P model?
  • If you were a patient, which model would you prefer the hospital to follow? Why?
  • If you were a provider, which model would you prefer to be paid for? Why?

Required Resources

Media

  • Video: Dentzer, S. (2006). National campaign aims to curb hospital mistakes, saves lives. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec06/lives_08-18.htmlThis video presentation includes an interview with Dr. Donald Berwick discussing the 100,000 Lives Campaign. There is also an option to download the audio only.

Readings

  • Course Text: Jonas & Kovner’s Health Care Delivery in the United States
    • Chapter 11, “High Quality Health Care”

    This chapter defines quality of health care and how differing definitions of quality care are influenced by the perspective of different stakeholders. Chapter 11 also addresses basic strategies for managing quality within the inherent complexity of health care organizations.

  • Article: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2008). The current state of health care quality. Retrieved from http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=30711

This article provides an overview of three key concerns in quality health care: underuse, overuse, and misuse of resources. The full article is available for download by scrolling down the page to the Publication and Resources section and clicking Download to view “The Current State of Health Care Quality Overview.”

  • Article: Wharam, J. F., & Sulmasy, D. (2009). Improving the quality of health care: Who is responsible for what? JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association,