Access To Health Care Essay Example

📌Category: Health, Health Care
📌Words: 378
📌Pages: 2
📌Published: 09 February 2022

Individuals that do not have a regular source of care become more likely to have delays in preventive care and services that increase their chances of premature illness and death. There are 3 steps to providing good access to care: “(1) achieving entry into the health care system, (2) obtaining access to essential health care services, and (3) locating providers that can meet patients’ individual needs and with whom they can communicate and build a respectful and trusting relationship” (Toscos, Carpenter, Flanagan, Kunjan, & Doebbeling, 2018). One method that can help alleviate the barrier of accessing health care is by utilizing technology to offer telehealth visits and remote patient monitoring. This method can expand access to care by providing preventative and follow up visit services to patients who are unable to physically make it to a clinic or office visit. Virtual visits are a cost-effective and reliable way to expand healthcare services to those who experience geographic disparities. Additionally, it is an essential resource in tackling the current shortage in specialty care which is important for individuals with chronic diseases. 

Research has shown that mobile clinics are another efficient way to improve access to care in communities that face health disparities and inequities. Relatively 20% of the residents in Charlotte feel that they do not have good health care in their community (Mecklenburg County Government, 2019). There has been a rise in mobile health clinics programs to undertake this issue. One of the valuable advantages of programs is its mobility and capability to go wherever they are needed the most. They can be used to connect community members to local health and social services within their community. Furthermore, they can provide an array of services like preventative care, dental care, behavioral and mental health screenings and treatment, medication management, crisis and substance abuse counseling, weight management, education, etc. Mobile health clinics are more flexible than a standard clinic and can be personalized to fit specific community needs. 

Other methods that can be utilized to reduce access to care challenges are income-based “sliding scale” payment plans to reduce costs for uninsured patients, group appointments for individuals with similar health issues, personalized patient call systems to high-risk patients, and transportation voucher programs. All of these are practices that can be tailored and implemented by community clinics and physician practices individually or as a collective. In addition, these practices can develop into organizational policies that ultimately improve the patient experience, health care access, and population health outcomes.

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