Healthcare is a crucial sector for every segment of the population because it strengthens various wellness dimensions. In designing a practical healthcare system, many factors, such as environment, behavioral science, cultures, and technology, help in the decision-making process. In this regard, it is irrational to argue that designing healthcare should be only a patient-oriented process. Although patients are the highest beneficiaries of a quality healthcare system, there should be a broad scope in assessing and determining ways of mitigating health risks. Based on the course reading, climate change and air pollution present significant environmental threats to health, with about nine individuals out of ten inhaling polluted air daily (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal Staff, 2019). This example demonstrates that the healthcare design must accommodate other issues, which increase the rate of sickness rather than solely focusing on elements within the hospital settings. Designing the healthcare system should be a comprehensive process that examines society’s wellness in general instead of the patients’ welfare alone.
Policymakers need to embrace a healthcare design that promotes innovations and procedures to improve the health of different population segments. For example, decision-makers should consider the stakeholders’ views from different cultures to develop healthcare innovations, which address the health needs of all individuals. In this way, there would be a unique combination of human-centered and industrial design that helps to create a culturally competent healthcare system (Innovation Design Engineering Organization, 2019). Additionally, the government is a significant user and financier of the healthcare system, and thus, the design should also integrate budgeting processes and other public programs connected to healthcare. Insurers and providers are also indirect users of healthcare, and their opinions are essential in transforming the sector. For instance, the design should provide explicit information on the providers’ purchasing power. Therefore, designing a healthcare system should be an inclusive process because health matters are related to the wellness of the entire population rather than patients only.
References
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal Staff. (2019). WHO’S top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Web.
Innovation Design Engineering Organization. (2019). A holistic, human-centered approach to managing diabetes care. Web.