Annotated Bibliography on Healthcare Legislation

Annotated Bibliography on Healthcare Legislation

Adepoju, Omolola E., Michael A. Preston, and Gilbert Gonzales. (2011)“Health Care Disparities in the Post–Affordable Care Act Era.” American Journal of Public Health 105.Suppl 5 (2015): S665–S667. PMC. Web. Retrieved from http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302611

This article examines the health care disparities in the post-Affordable Care Act Era. The author explains that the disparities in the American health care system have been targeted with the aim of elimination by the federal agencies and other professional organizations such as the American Health Association. The authors further highlight the significant role and functions of the Affordable Care Act and what is has done to enhance the health care service provision in the United States. The authors explain that the ACA has provided the valuable steps to help minimize and reduce the disparity gaps in the healthcare system. The authors further note that the success of the ACA is dependent upon the opportunities created in the health care system. The ACA, according to the authors, has created the first valuable step in reducing the risks for impaired health and enhance the accessibility of medical care to the marginalized groups with limited access. This article is going to help me in the research identify and analyze the health care disparities in the American health system. Through the analysis of the health care legislations including the ACA of 2010, this article provides ways to enhance the health care service accessibility; for instance, affordable premium plans for the communities based on the income level

Edmunds, M., Thorpe, L., Sepulveda, M., Bezold, C., & Ross, D. A. (2014). The future of public health informatics: alternative scenarios and recommended strategies. eGEMs, 2(4). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4371422/

This article examines the effective use of public health informatics and also recommends the strategies to improve the health care system. The article further explains the importance of information infrastructure for public health in attempt to enhance the health care system. This includes software, hardware, skilled workforce, and other services aimed at improving the health care services. The article also identifies the significance of intersectional partnerships in the health care systems. The recommended strategies to help change the scenario is also given in the article. The authors explain the functional differences between the public health and the health care systems in attempt to define the alternative strategies that can be used to advance the health care provisions among various geospatially defined populations across America. The strategies recommended in the article include enhancing information sharing capabilities in the health system to enhance the surveillance system. This article is going to help me in the research to identify the strategies to improve the health system; for instance, building additional healthcare facilities in various regions and hiring more skilled medical personnel. The article will further help me in the research to identify and explain the various ways of making the coverage of health care systems more accessible to the people who have been marginalized across the country.

Glover-Thomas, N. (2013). The Health and Social Care Act 2012: The emergence of equal treatment for mental health care or another false dawn?. Medical law international, 13(4), 279-297. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4523576/

This article authored by Nicola Glover-Thomas examines the functions and impacts of the health and social Care Act of 2012. The author examines the various legislative processes that the American health care system has passed through for the past years until 2012 when the HSCA 2012 was enacted. The author explains the impacts of HSCA of 2012 in enhancing the mental health services and improving the quality of care and outcomes among many patients in America. Apart from the legislations and policy amendments, the author further explains the other mechanisms that have been put in place to ensure that the health care system is improved and readily accessible to people. For instance, the Commission of Services for the mental health care and treatment services under the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Again, the establishment of Health and Well-being Boards by the local authorities is aimed at reducing the perennial problems surrounding the working environment. This article will help me in the research to identify and explain the healthcare legislations such as access to health information by all the stakeholders with the aim of improving the information sharing and partnerships or collaboration between the various agencies and stakeholders in the health systems.

Kronick, R. (2016). AHRQ’s role in improving quality, safety, and health system performance. Public Health Reports, 131(2), 229-232. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4765970/

This article authored by Richard Kronick examines the role and functions of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in improving the quality and safety of American patients in the health care institutions. The roles of AHRQ) as explained in the article include developing the knowledge, tools, and data required to improve the health care system performance, health care professionals, and enhance policy making in the American health care system. The article examines the various legislations in the health care including the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and how they have facilitated the health care system performance across the country. The other roles of the agency include investigating in research and evidence to help improve and understand how the safety and quality of the healthcare system can be improved and maintained, creating materials to train and teach the health care personnel so as to enhance the system-wide-improvements, and generating measures and data to be used in tracking and improving and evaluating the performance of the U.S health care system. This article is going to help me in the research to identify and explain the healthcare legislations that have been put in place to improve data collection and accessibility of information in the American health care system.

Maher, B. S. (2011). Some thoughts on health care exchanges: choice, defaults, and the unconnected. Conn. L. Rev., 44, 1099. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1218&context=law_papers

This article examines the role and functions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in relation to private insurance and exchanges. The author explains how the ACA has created opportunities for many Americans who felt that they were left out of the insurance service provisions for many decades. The ACA has created the platform in which an individual can make an insurance choice or pay a penalty in a more transparent manner. The ACA has also enhanced accessibility of information in the health care system; thus, improving the accountability and transparency in the system that has been missing for many years. The article further explains the role and impact of ACA in improving health care services among the marginalized groups in America. Many people can now access the information and the insurance services at their home comfort through the internet that has also enhanced the process. However, the unconnected are still disadvantaged; thus, Maher recommends the solution (default solution) to their problems in the article. The default solution includes ensuring that both the online and offline services are available to the consumers so that they can choose what to and not to use. This article is going to help me in the research to explain the ways to improve accessibility of information by the marginalized groups and other stakeholders in the health care system.

McNeely, C. A., & Morland, L. (2016). The health of the newest Americans: how US public health systems can support Syrian refugees. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4695930/

This article examines how the U.S health care system has constantly supported the immigrants in the country. The article provides the statistical data on immigrants from various countries such as Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Europe as well. The author further explains the complexities and challenges that the U.S healthcare system experiences including the transportation, housing, deferred preventive care services, and other resources. Despite the challenges, the article further highlights some of the innovative strategies designed and implemented to help curb the problems; for instance, the Philadelphia Refugee health collaborative strategy that brings together the refugee resettlement agencies and other stakeholders to provide quality and safe health care services to the refugees. Another initiative include the new arrivals working group, King County in Washington that identifies and recommends the probable solutions to the challenges involved in providing health care services to the refugees. This article is going to assist in the research to provide the statistical data that will be used to analyze the ways to build an integrated health care system platform that is able to provide detailed data about the marginalized communities in America. This article will also assist in analyzing the ways to improve the health care system including providing opportunities to the marginalized groups and tackling the daunting barriers confronted by those with limited English Proficiency such as refugees or immigrants from the Middle East.

Stroumsa, D. (2014). The state of transgender health care: policy, law, and medical frameworks. American journal of public health, 104(3), e31-e38. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3953767/

This article examines the state of transgender health care policy, laws, and medical frameworks in place to enhance health care accessibility to transgender people. The author reviews the current status of transgender people’s access to health care system and analyzes the policies and laws relating to the health care services for the transgender people. The author further examines the limitations in the policies and laws put in place to guarantee health care service accessibility for the transgender as one of the marginalized social groups in America. Through the preliminary outline the author recommends the strategies to help enhance the health care services provision to the transgender in accordance with the medical guidelines. The recommendations include the allocation of research funds, education of health care workers, and the implementation of the existing nondiscrimination policies in the health care facilities. However, the author also identifies the limitations to this process; for instance, the current policies limits medical coverage for sexually disoriented persons including the transgender. This article is going to help me in the research to further explain the strategies to help improve the health care system to ensure that the health care services reach every group irrespective of the sexual orientation or socioeconomic backgrounds. The article will also help me identify other strategies to help improve the American health care system including increasing and diversifying the workforce of the health care by hiring staffs from different ethnic and social-cultural backgrounds to ensure inclusivity in the health care sector; thus, minimizing the disparities that have been witnessed in the health care system for decades.

Ubri, P., & Artiga, S. (2016). Disparities in health and health care: Five key questions and answers. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-health-and-health-care-five-key-questions-and-answers/

This article examines the disparities and shortcomings in the health care system. Through the five key questions and answers, the authors summarize the challenges and shortcomings in the American health care system including disparity between various population groups in America. The authors further explain the significance of understanding health and health care disparities in relation to improving the quality of care and health for citizens. The authors have also explained the status of disparity today and how it has affected and continues to affect the American health care system. Apart from the challenges and shortcomings in the health care system, the authors have also provided the key initiatives to help address the disparities in the health sector including the efforts undertaken by the Department of Health and Human Services of 2011 and the Affordable Care Act of 2010. The authors have also explained the extent to which the Affordable Care Act has affected the health coverage disparities in America. This includes reducing the uninsured rates for marginalized groups such as the people of color and the low-income populations. This article is going to help me in the research identify the ways to improve the health care accessibility and the health system as a whole; for instance, eliminate the Medicaid to enhance medical coverage for the marginalized groups such as immigrants and also improve the grants to health care accessibility to people with low literacy and low-income levels.

Upchurch, D. M., & Rainisch, B. W. (2015). The importance of wellness among users of complementary and alternative medicine: findings from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 15(1), 362. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4607148/

This article by Dawn Upchurch and Bethany Rainisch examines the importance of wellness among the users of complimentary alternative medicine in respect to the findings from 2007 National Health Interview Survey study. The article explains the use of CAM as part of the American’s health care and health seeking practices for many years. Through the social-behavioral wellness model of CAM use, the authors explain the behavioral model of health services utilization of conventional care and its components. The authors further explain the CAM use as a health self-management system as one of the aspects of healthy self-care. The authors review the biopsychosocial characteristics, the encompassing social, psychosocial, and the physical features of study subjects with the aim of identifying the order of construct or wellness. The article further highlights the predisposing factors influencing wellness users such as gender and race. This article is going to help me in the research to identify the authorizing grants that can help in the fight of diseases and other challenges faced predominantly by the minority racial groups in America. It will further help identify the ways improving the health care system in America including constructing the community based health care facilities and medical colleges for training programs.

Valerie,. W. (2014). ‘Sanism’, a socially acceptable prejudice: addressing the prejudice associated with mental illness in the legal system(Doctoral dissertation, University of Tasmania). Retrieved from http://eprints.utas.edu.au/18668/1/Whole-Williams-thesis.pdf

This article authored by Williams Valerie examines the social injustices and prejudices that the mentally ill patients find themselves in various countries and the legal system to help them access the health services. The author provides comparison of “sanism” situation between United States and other countries like United Kingdom and Australia in which she argues that the mentally retarded persons are socially prejudiced in other countries than United States. For instance, in the United States, the mentally ill are recognized while in other countries like the UK and Australia they are retarded and prejudiced more. The author further examines the impact of this kind of stigmatization to the mentally ill patients including diminished self-esteem and robbing of their social opportunities. The author also explains the biasness in the legal system and the pretextual treatment of the mentally ill in various countries. This article is going to help me in the research to highlight and analyze ways to improve the health care system and health care accessibility among the marginalized groups such as providing equal opportunities to such communities. Through the comparison study between the various countries, this article will help explain the health care status in the United States in the global aspect.

Free Annotated Bibliography on Healthcare Legislation