History of the U.S. Health Care Delivery System
History of the U.S. Health Care Delivery System
Over the course of our countries history, the delivery of our health care system has tried to meet the needs of our growing and changing population. However, we somehow seem to fall short in delivering our goals of providing quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to our citizens. The history of our delivery system will show we continuously changed the delivery of our system however never mange to control cost. If we can come up with efficient ways to cut cost, the delivery of quality care will follow.
The delivery of the U.S. healthcare system has changed drastically over the years from the inception of organized healthcare to today’s underdeveloped system. Prior to the 1920’s, most Americans would only seek medical attention to treat chronic illnesses which would shortly result in death. Hospital centers were scarce and early patients were mostly treated by private physicians in their homes. Because of the scarcity of hospitals and the underdevelopment of medical technology at the time, doctors could do little to help patients. This resulted in minimal medical cost for patients receiving care. However, families did purchased sickness insurance, or what we know today as disability insurance, to cover cost of lost wages due to long term sickness. At this time, the cost of loss wages and/or the sickness insurance premiums exceeded the cost of the medical care itself. Because of this, organized health care was not seen as essential. At the start of the twentieth century, the increase in medical advancements and growth of hospitals changed the need for organized health care. (Add Quote) Private doctors began to shift medical care to hospitals in order to take advantage of new medical technologies which in turn increased the costs for such care.
From this point on, health care cost would continuously rise as science and medicine would proved to stabilize chronic diseases, physicians licensures became
Over the course of our countries history, the delivery of our health care system has tried to meet the needs of our growing and changing population. However, we somehow seem to fall short in delivering our goals of providing quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to our citizens. The history of our delivery system will show we continuously changed the delivery of our system however never mange to control cost. If we can come up with efficient ways to cut cost, the delivery of quality care will follow.
The delivery of the U.S. healthcare system has changed drastically over the years from the inception of organized healthcare to today’s underdeveloped system. Prior to the 1920’s, most Americans would only seek medical attention to treat chronic illnesses which would shortly result in death. Hospital centers were scarce and early patients were mostly treated by private physicians in their homes. Because of the scarcity of hospitals and the underdevelopment of medical technology at the time, doctors could do little to help patients. This resulted in minimal medical cost for patients receiving care. However, families did purchased sickness insurance, or what we know today as disability insurance, to cover cost of lost wages due to long term sickness. At this time, the cost of loss wages and/or the sickness insurance premiums exceeded the cost of the medical care itself. Because of this, organized health care was not seen as essential. At the start of the twentieth century, the increase in medical advancements and growth of hospitals changed the need for organized health care. (Add Quote) Private doctors began to shift medical care to hospitals in order to take advantage of new medical technologies which in turn increased the costs for such care.
From this point on, health care cost would continuously rise as science and medicine would proved to stabilize chronic diseases, physicians licensures became
References: Sultz, H. & Young, K. (2011). Health care USA: Understanding its organization and delivery (7th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett. N. A., Advocacy. (2011). Retrieved from World Health Organization website: http://www.who.int/mental_health/advocacy/en/ N. A, Future of Health Care Reform. (June, 2011). Retrieved June 06, 2011 from www.healthcarereform.gov Social Security Administration (n.d.) Historical Background and Development of Social Security. Retrieved June 06, 2011, from http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html