Changes in Healthcare Industry

Running head: CHANGES IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
CHANGES IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Student A.
Grand Canyon University: <Course>
<Date>

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CHANGES IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Informal summary:
The average life expectancy of people in America is found to be higher in the present
time than any other period in history. Data from the United Nations report has shown that
number of people who are 65 years and older had risen from 8% to that of 12% of the total
population between 1950 and that of 2000. This figure is suspected to increase by about 20% by
the year 2050 and would continue to rise steadily thereafter (United Nations, 2017). One of the
most important causes of the increase in life expectancy of the people is the advancement of
medical science and innovation in technologies in the healthcare industry. Although, more
people are living longer nowadays but the quality of lives of such people are found to be quite
poor. A high number of people are suffering from chronic ailments with unmanaged conditions
that are making them suffer terribly. More than 133 million Americans or about 45% of the
population are living with one chronic condition (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015). These conditions
mainly include asthma, arthritis, heart disorders, depression, diabetes, obesity and others. In such
situations, unmanaged health conditions might make people admit to hospitals with intense
deterioration of health resulting in higher suffering and resulting in more financial flow of
healthcare resources. Hence, healthcare industry in United States is relying in introducing
systems of healthcare centers which would focus more on preventive measures rather than
curative measures. Community healthcare clinics are thereby believed to be the new systems
where more and more nursing professionals would be allocated.
Community healthcare centers mainly focus on preventive measures of treatment. Here,
healthcare professionals would be mainly focusing on spreading awareness among people and
helping people to manage their disorders in different ways. This would ensure that deterioration
of health does not take place to an extent where acute care is needed. Community healthcare

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CHANGES IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
professionals would maintain the responsibility of caring for older cohorts who suffer from
multi-morbid chronic conditions. This would be done in ways by which they learn to self manage
them and become educated to maintain their symptoms and manage their disorders successfully
(Fraher et al., 2015). Studies are of the opinion that community healthcare services provide a
wide range of care from supporting patients in learning to manage long term conditions to even
treating those who are ill with complex conditions (Salmond et al., 2017). Community based
primary healthcare services are seen to cover broad range of primary prevention as well as
primary care services within the community. This would include health promotion, diseases
prevention, diagnosis, treatment as well as management of chronic conditions and episodic
illness, rehabilitation support and even end of life care.
Hence, more and more nurses are now required in the community based healthcare
centers in comparison to that of the acute care hospitals. Accountable care organizations are
explained as the groups of doctors, healthcare centers as well as healthcare providers who work
voluntarily together for giving coordinated high-quality care to their Medicare patients. Nursing
professionals need to work in such sectors with the goal of providing care to patients to ensure
that they get the right care at the right treatment while avoiding unnecessary treatments or
duplication of the services and preventing medical errors (Ginter et al., 2018). Medical homes
are other segments of community based healthcare centers where nurses need to be allocated.
Such community healthcare centers ensures patient –centered, comprehensive as well as team-
based, coordinated, accessible and focused on quality and safety. It mainly focuses on providing
primary healthcare services to patients making care more accessible to patients, guiding them
through development of better health behaviors, developing health literacy and controls their
own disorders successfully through self management (Mason et al., 2015). Nurse led health