Access to care, the quality of care, and the cost of care are the top areas that hospitals are working to improve. The cost of health care and financing health care results in a national health care expenditure and sources of payment must be investigated. Health care costs are also inextricably bound to quality issues and, therefore, quality initiatives are linked to health care spending.
National Health Expenditures (NHE) and trends are reported annually by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Office of the Actuary, the National Health Statistics Group, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The expenditures are reported and tracked over time using a standard format that identifies both the private and public sources of funds as well as the objects of expense. Reports are issued annually, two years following the closure of the reporting period. See Table 8-1 in the textbook.
In 2014, NHE totaled more than 3.0 trillion dollars, 17.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and that equates to approximately 9,523 dollars per person (see Figure 8-1). There are a number of interrelated factors that contribute to health care expenditures. These include aging population; new drugs and medical and diagnostic technology; emphasis on speciality medicine; large numbers of uninsured and underinsured; volume-based reimbursement incentives; and labor intensity.
Scenario
As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of We Care Hospital, you receive a call from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who requests that the two of you work together on a health care spending project. Your first task is to conduct a PESTLE analysis. Use Critical Thinking Skills and Metacognition to research current events in the macro environment. Then, prepare a Microsoft PowerPoint 10-slide narrative using a PESTLE analysis. A identifies political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors.
Instructions
Your 10-slide PESTLE PowerPoint should follow this format:
- Slide 1: Cover Page.
- Include the title of your presentation, your name, the course number and course title, your professors name, and the date.
- Slide 2: Background or Executive Summary.
- Describe the details of the situation. Use bullets with short sentences. The title of these slides should be Executive Summary.
- Slide 3: Thesis Statement.
- Identify the focus of your research. The title of this slide should be Thesis Statement.
- Slides 49: Support.
- Support your thesis statement following the SESC formula: State, Explain, Support, and Conclude.
- You should include at least three court cases and related peer-reviewed articles from within the past five years.
- Slide 10: References.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Note: Writing Resources are also available in the left-hand menu of your course, including Strayer Universitys Writing Center, Tutor.com, and Grammarly.com.
