Why is Healthcare Important in Our Community? Published on:- 11-24-2022 Healthcare is essential in the community, whether you work for a healthcare company or care for your family. Healthcare services assist individuals in avoiding emergency rooms and hospitals, save medical expenditures, and increase community health and well-being. There are now a lot of hurdles to community access to primary care. Economic, medical, and cultural issues often cause these impediments. However, several new ideas are developing that may expand access to care. The American Heart Association Task Force on Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities was established in 2015 to investigate broad options for changing healthcare delivery. This initiative identified nine critical healthcare services that should be made accessible to communities. Social services, preventative care, and healthcare education are examples of these. The primary healthcare paradigm integrates three categories of services: social, preventive, and mental health. These services are provided through community-based and patient-directed health facilities. The approach includes dental, drug abuse treatment, mental health, and other critical services. These programs are often essential in addressing health inequalities in marginalized areas. The HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care conducts a cross-sectional study called the Health Center Patient Survey. The survey picks a nationally representative sample of patients for each location and interviews them. The survey asks about access to care, social determinants of health, and other supporting services. Improving the health and well-being of underrepresented areas is essential to the nation's overall health. It also fosters economic stability and mobility. It also helps to strengthen community safety and social relationships. Many state, federal, and municipal programs are centered on health equality. It includes measures that encourage equitable access to health care and illness prevention. Equity requires resources, responsibility, and monitoring. It also involves community collaboration to build healthier ecosystems.
Health inequalities result from socio economic imbalances that have existed for a long time. Disparities include racial and ethnic inequality, geographic location, and other discrimination-related traits. To improve health and well-being, these imbalances must be addressed. Community health improvement is a public health method that strengthens social relationships and increases access to health care. To identify hurdles, healthcare practitioners must collaborate with community stakeholders. They must also reconsider measures that obstruct access to health care. It is critical to transform the healthcare system to change populations better. Healthcare practitioners must also provide patient support. Translators and patient navigators may be among them. Several studies have emphasized the benefits of minimizing ED visits and hospital admissions. However, how the advantages are produced and how much money may be saved is still being determined. It might be as easy as reallocating healthcare funding to avoid ED overcrowding. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has implemented a 5-year voluntary ambulance diversion payment scheme. Under the concept, participants are compensated for transportation to an alternate destination partner, such as a primary care clinic or community mental health facility. This strategy has the potential to save taxpayers millions of dollars. According to Institute of Medicine (IOM) research, treating a typical primary care patient in a hospital emergency department is 12 times higher than treating the same patient at a physician's office. More medical school graduates are required to treat noncritical illnesses in the emergency department to address this issue. An early assessment claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted healthcare use. However, the most substantial drop in ED visits occurred in early March 2020. This might be due to pent-up demand for care. It might also be due to people opting not to go to the ED for a non-emergency medical problem. The growing diversity in the United States faces policymakers and healthcare professionals with new concerns. Policies to tackle racism, classism, ageism, sexism, homophobia, and other types of prejudice must address challenges at all levels. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines discrimination as "a strong, unfavorable attitude, bias, or assumption about a group or individual." Prejudice is often shown via discriminatory conduct. Stereotypes are examples of discrimination. A stereotype is a series of hostile cognitive generalizations or beliefs about a group that is typically irreversible. Homophobia is a term used to describe unfavorable views toward homosexuals. Homophobia is a psychological condition that leads to prejudice towards homosexuals. Harassment and violence are examples of such behavior.
Classism is a kind of prejudice that happens in society, interpersonal relationships, and institutional contexts. Discriminatory language, discriminatory policies, and discriminatory attitudes are all manifestations of classism. It may include legal aid, procedures, public policy, and social and political activity.