Affordability of health care
Affordability is one of the most important concepts to consider when defining the quality of healthcare. Such is a case whereby meeting the cost of health care delivery is critical to the outcome of the process. It is apparent that financing impacts on quality care given that institutions with limited resources often lack facilities to support the infrastructures that enhance the delivery of care thereby raising quality issues. For instance, since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in America, a good number of Americans have reported fair to good health as it reduced the number of uninsured population (Blumenthal & Collins, 2014).
The affordability of health care as a structure
Affordability of health care as a concept of quality can be viewed from the perspective of structure measure. The heath care structure evaluates how the healthcare system can deliver care to the population through the interactions of doctors, infrastructures, and various facilities within the health care settings (Caitlin & Kim, 2014). By considering the concept of affordability, the quality of the health care system can be evaluated from the perspective of its ability to integrate, support and sustain all processes at all times to ensure positive patient outcome.
Application to the six dimensions
Safety
Safe health care can be ensured through reducing harm and injuries to patients as a result of poor infrastructures (Richardson, Berwick, Bristow, Buck,& Cassel, 2016). Affordable health care bridges this gap by providing facilities that can assist patients in their time of need. For example, having physicians at all times to attend to patients is indicative of quality health care.
Effectiveness
Affordability will ensure that qualified personnel are available at designated institutions to provide care according to patient need while referring complex cases to areas or other institutions where such special treatment can be easily obtained.
Patient-centeredness
Affordability will enhance the ability of the healthcare system to deliver care to patient with regard to their values and preference in a responsive manner. For instance, affordability of the health care plan will favor patients to report to care givers who explain their treatment options in ways that are easier for them to understand rather than having a one-fits-all model of care.
Timeliness
Affordable care will reduce waits and delays during the care delivery processconsequently reducing injuries due to delayed procedures for both the patient and those that intended to help them.
Efficiency
Affordable care will reduce waste of resources and personnel as various structures are specifically designed to meet specialized needs of the healthcare system.
Equitability
One major success of the ACA is reducing the number of uninsured individuals (Blumenthal & Collins, 2014). Affordability ensures provision of care even to those with lower socioeconomic status in the community such as the elderly population.
Part 2
Marketing FitbitAlta HR wearable device
Wearable technology has become commonplace in the health care industry in the recent times. Many individuals demand a fitness device and activity tracker to help check on their fitness.By exploring relevant marketing mix, FitbitAlta HR wearable technology has become one of the biggest suppliers of this technology in the market today. Marketing mix is a set of tools or variables that assists the marketing team to effectively carry out their marketing activities that involve creating an offering for exchange(Kotler, Shalowitz& Stevens, 2011). These variables are such as product, price, promotion and pace – known as the 4Ps.
Fitbit Alta HR explores the 4Ps to effectively influence the targeted marketed. The product aspect of the device is that it is the world’s slimmest fitness wristband (Bell, 2017). The product design also plays an influential role in that besides its thin and fine finish, the gadget offers continuous heart-monitoring functionality. The promotion strategy is that the wearable device is designed to measure level of sleep and tell its user what they need to do to improve it. The product is marketed throughout the world. Moreover, the device is capable of measuring sleep stages and sleep insights globally (Bell, 2017). The price strategy also fits the Fitbit Alta HR. It costs around $100 that makes it affordable for most individuals who value fitness.
The marketing strategy of Fitbit Alta HR positively influenced my personal opinion of the health care product. Firstly, the fact that the gadget is small and performs such functionality as monitoring physiological processes makes it create a great demand for individuals that are more conscious about their own health. Moreover, the product is well-designed, available and fairly priced. This gadget is definitely a must-buy in this trendy market.
References
Bell, L. (2017). Fitbit wants To Revolutionize Your Sleep With The New Alta HR Wearable. Forbes, 7 March, 2017. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/leebelltech/2017/03/07/fitbit-wants-to-revolutionize-your-sleep-with-the-new-alta-hr-wearable/#361e35ea6fa9
Blumenthal, D., & Collins, S. R. (2014).Health care coverage under the affordable Care Act – a progress report.New England Journal of Medicine, 371(3), 275-281.
Caitlin, M. & Kim, Bailey (2014).Measuring Health Care Quality: An Overview of Quality Measures.
Kotler, P., Shalowitz, J., & Stevens, R. J. (2011). Strategic Marketing for Health care Organizations: Building A Customer-Driven Health System. Hoboken: Wiley.
Richardson, W., Berwick, J., Bristow, L., Buck, C. J., & Cassel, C. (2016).Crossing the quality chasm: a new health system for the 21st century. 2001. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine.
