Neglect by Policy Makers and the Public
- Neglect by Policy Makers and the Public
The United States healthcare policy is not in good shape and the existing legislations are supposed to be revised and their scope made to be broad and inclusive. The U.S healthcare costs are the highest in all the industrialized countries and it has outpaced inflation and annual income growth (Roh, 2012). The new legislation that president Obama brought to the legislatures for them to implement has seen sharp opposition from some of the legislatures (Lewis, 2011), but when it comes to policies that are concerned with terrorism and other international threats, the policy makers are very united.
The neglect of the domestic policies is very evident by the politics that are involved when it comes to domestic policies that are to be put in place to cater for the domestic citizens. Security of the nation has been prioritized but the question that begs to be answered is, a healthy nation is the one that will actually require the security to be provided.
The public has also been very much involved in fueling the neglect as there is a portion of them that profit from the existing status quo. The case of Walmart which is the country’s largest employer seeks to deny insurance cover to its employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week according to its drafted policies (Hines, 2013). Despite the country being encouraged to ensure that all its citizens have healthcare insurance cover, the citizens are still trying hard to drag the country behind.
- Disagreement with the Physician Orders by the Caregiver
The roles, training and responsibility between a physician and a caregiver are very different in the hospital set up but the common ground is that they are there to ensure that the patients in the hospital receive quality care and they achieve the services they need in the most efficient and effective way possible. If a nurse does not agree with the order that the doctor has given, the nurse has no power to make certain types of care decisions but they have the power and responsibility to go up the ladder and seek for advice until they are satisfied that the right decision has been made (Brown, 2010). Like if the order is that of a wrong prescription, the care giver can take the issue with the clinical pharmacist or physician in charge. Questioning a physician’s orders can be considered not to be a good sign but the main thing that is important is the health of the patient. Challenging a treatment order should not be perceived as an attempt to attack or oppose the authority and judgment of the physician, but as means for contributing to the decision making process by the care giver.
- Employment-at-will
Employment at will is a doctrine that states than an employment contract of indefinite duration can be terminated by either the employer or the employee at any time for any reason. In the state of California an employer has the power to terminate an employee at any time, without cause, without prior warning, for any reason or for no particular reason at all (Porter Law Group, 2013).
In the modern society it is very important to have this type of law as it protects employers against wrongful termination lawsuits from terminated employees. Employment and termination of employment in the society have to exist but there comes a case where the employers are very fearful of terminating their employees because of the lawsuits associated with it.
References
Brown, T. (2010, Oct 13). “When the Nurse Disagree with the Doctor.” New York Times. Retrieved on May 24, 2013 from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/how-far-should-a-nurse-go/
Hines, A. (2013, Dec 1). “Walmart’s New Health Care Policy Shifts Burden to Medicaid, Obamacare.” Huffington Post Business. Retrieved on May 24, 2013 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/01/walmart-health-care-policy-medicaid-obamacare_n_2220152.html
Lewis, M. (2011 Jan 11). “2011: Healthcare Policy in the New Congress.” FDA and Healthcare Lawflash. Retrieved on May 24, 2013 from http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/FDA_LF_HealthcarePolicyinNewCongress_07jan11.pdf
Porter Law Group. (2013). At-Will Employment Policy. Retrieved on May 24, 2013 from http://porterlaw.com/labor_atwill_employment.htm
Roh, K.A. (2012). Challenges to Policy Implementation: An Examination of an Integrated Health Care Delivery System Demonstration Project. Honors Projects. Paper 38.
