Factors Hindering Advance Planning and Measures to Increase Awareness among Americans
The aging population in the United States is the fastest enlarging sector currently. They are among the most prominent clients of palliative services. However, not everyone who needs long-term care gets it since various obstacles often hinder preparation. The task of putting together a bundle of services that fits a person’s needs promotes independence, and protects the quality of life is a hard and perplexing one. In-home care, nursing homes, and palliative care facilities are all options for long-term care.
In addition, multiple agencies and services working together is not unusual. If one service fails to cooperate with the others, it creates an impediment that causes even greater confusion. To make the process simpler for elders and their families, it is vital to plan ahead of time and prevent problems from occurring. The decreased number of support personnel limits the ability to provide aid in advance planning and reduces their willingness to remain in their own homes, which is a double blow. Many people in the current culture are forced to grow old alone because of their family size, single parenting, or divorce (Young & Kroth, 2017). Denial is also a contributing factor to the above situation. As a society, there is a tendency to avoid or ignore the inevitable flow of life, which is death. Rejection of demise is damage that prevents people from dealing with life’s challenges, and some people would not choose to do so if they were contemplating their death. Co-effectiveness is also a severe impediment to the elderly receiving the services they require and deserve.
The majority of elderly individuals prefer to remain in their homes, which might be prohibitively expensive. An assisted living facility charges about $250 per day and $7000 per month on average for long-term care, nursing home costs about $600 a month for a semi-private room. On the other hand, home health aides cost about $25 per hour, and adult daycare costs about $69 per hour (Young & Kroth, 2017). Some fewer seniors can afford the care and services they need because of the current economic downturn. It is critical that the general public in the United States become familiar with these issues. It is imperative to launch a campaign that empowers seniors to take control of their futures and better understand their options.
Change from Inpatient Hospitalization to Ambulatory Care Services
Programs that can help people understand the importance of making an advanced care plan and expressing their wishes for the end of their lives should be promoted. A variety of services, such as counseling, is available through the Aging and Disability Resource Center to help people weigh their long-term care options. The impact on hospitals, patients, and the complete health care system of the shift from inpatient hospitalization to outpatient care services is explored in depth.
These changes are made possible in part because of new medical and diagnostic technologies and less invasive treatment methods. In today’s health care system, outpatient operations and procedures are often not available. Assuming that ambulatory services will provide better clinical outcomes at a lower cost, a common cost-containment strategy has moved inpatient treatment to these services (Kreckman et al., 2018). Revenues from outpatient treatment are on the verge of surpassing or even surpassing those from hospitalized patients receiving inpatient treatment. Healthcare in the US is experiencing fundamental structural modifications that will change the hospital and doctor’s roles in providing therapeutic care. Economical alternatives to acute-care hospitalization will become more appealing as this system develops and diversifies its resources.
A rise in the cost of healthcare will necessitate greater demands from health insurance companies for these sacrifices. Ambulatory care, non-traditional delivery methods, and post-acute care for the elderly will all increase demand due to the rising costs of hospital treatment. In the face of rising costs, the hospital industry faces increasing competition, leading to the closure of many facilities or their acquisition by large hospital management companies (Kreckman et al., 2018). Outside of the hospital, there will be an increase in places where entrepreneurs can start their businesses. A wide range of cost-effective health care options can only benefit the patient from these advancements. Physicians and other healthcare providers will increase their efforts to meet patients’ needs as patient satisfaction rises.
Factors That Impede Access to Mental Illness Treatment
A high percentage of the single homeless population suffers from a severe and long-lasting mental illness. Mental illness affects 22% of the people in the United States, but only 1% of around 44 million people with extreme mental conditions are without homes (Young & Kroth, 2017). Despite the large number of psychologically sick people living on the streets, homelessness has increased. Increasing the number of people without severe mental illness is not the cause of this increase. After treatment, most patients were able to return to their pre-treatment activity levels.
More and more people with severe mental illness are being discharged from institutions early and unnecessarily because of deinstitutionalization and support denials. The appropriate response to humiliation, both private and public, is secrecy. Both patients’ and doctors’ unwillingness to inquire about depressive symptoms are blamed for the difficulties in treating depression, according to Van Tilburg et al. (2021). The courtesy stigma is a term used to describe a social stigma that may be attached to family and friends because of their affiliation. Professionals are not exempt from hiding their own or a loved one’s mental illness. At every stage of the sickness, secrecy impedes the presentation and treatment of mental illnesses.
There is a distinct difference between the mobilization of social resources and the isolation of people with mental health issues. One can expect poorer outcomes in patients with chronic mental illnesses when their social networks are compromised. It is impossible to predict the future of current anti-stigma efforts. Media coverage of these interventions will be critical to disseminate accurate information about mental health and counter misinformation currently being spread (Van Tilburg et al., 2021). Increased social inclusion and decreased poverty are the long-term goals of this initiative Discrimination will take on a new persona because of this development. The goal is to recognize prejudice in any situation and to challenge discriminatory behavior whenever possible.
According to the accomplishments of other anti-discrimination movements, mental illness is one of the last remaining prejudices. Prerequisites include continuing to list discriminatory practices from various angles. There are times when psychiatrists must rely on others to point out injustices, such as the current practice of psychiatric evaluation of organ donation candidates. Another area where psychiatry cannot effect change on its own is twofold discrimination, the coexistence of psychological illness, and cultural minorities. Psychologists must collaborate with specialists from other fields to find problems and develop long-term fixes.
References
Kreckman, J., Wasey, W., Wise, S., Stevens, T., Millburg, L., & Jaeger, C. (2018). Improving medication reconciliation at hospital admission, discharge, and ambulatory care through a transition of the care team. BMJ Open Quality, 7(2), e000281. Web.
Van Tilburg, T. G., Steinmetz, S., Stolte, E., van der Roest, H., & de Vries, D. H. (2021). Loneliness and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study among Dutch older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(7), e249-e255. Web.
Young, K., & Kroth, P. (2017). Healthcare USA: Understanding its organization and delivery (9th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.