Please answer in an essay format. The paper must be 1000 words minimum and be sure to cite any references used to support your response.
Design a care management program for engaging diabetic patients using technology. Think about how you plan to engage patients, provide a continuous level of monitoring, and react to data being collected.
Solution
Reflection Paper
Healthcare in the U.S.A. has been faced by underfunding, making it a priority for strategies that will reduce the costs of accessing it. The cost associated with healthcare is increasingly high in the USA, which is leading to development of strategies to minimize. According to a report by National Health Expenditure Accounts (n.d.), the government spends about 17.9% of its Gross Domestic Product on healthcare, yet the quality of services offered does not match the investment. Costs are presently shared between the government and patients, with the fee-for-service being the prevalent charging model. The report also indicates that the fee-for-service model has faced progressively increasing costs of administration, pharmacy, and physicians’ compensation. One of the diseases that is significantly draining funds allocated to healthcare is diabetes, and while there are measures to manage it, there can be a better outcomes, such as remote monitoring and data collection and assessments, resulting from technology that will reduce costs and ensure efficiency in addressing the disease.
The care management for diabetes will have the remote monitoring system for the patients. The disease has the management practices of regular blood sugar testing, proper dieting, exercising, and in some cases, taking drugs. While the patients could be aware about what is required for them, they have to consistently visit the physician so that any changes in the practices can be suggested. For instance, a change in the patient’s occupation could demand an adjustment of the food portioning. However, the patient would not be knowledgeable about the necessary changes without the assistance of the physician, thereby making the communication between them indispensable. Remote monitoring will then be applicable whereby the patient can provide the information such as blood sugar changes, and the physician can identify how adjustments can be conducted without the patient having to visit the hospital (Shan et al., 2019). Technological facilities including on short message services and mobile apps can be used for the service, hence making the disease management easier than it is now.
Education is another key component of the care management program that will help in achieving better patient outcomes. According to Hunt (2015), the medical field is greatly developing, and the care management using technology can help in notifying patients about new practices. Fisher and Dickinson (2011) also note that education can facilitate self-management support. For instance, the patients can learn the limits of their sugar intake in real time from dedicated websites and mobile apps, and so they do not have to consult physicians. Fisher and Dickinson (2011) also suggest that given the satisfactory experience gained by the patients as they are using self-management, they become more receptive and cooperative to the directions provided by healthcare workers and the self-management systems. Education can also relate to preventive measures about the disease, and the people can observe them due to the realization about the effects getting the diseases would have on their general health, lifestyle, and income. They realize that since there is no absolute cure for diabetes, then they benefit more from preventing than waiting to manage it.
The care program will further encompass the collection and analysis of data for informed decision making. Data relating to diabetes can include the prevalence, mortality rates resulting from it, demographics of the affected, and management practices. Shan et al. (2019) provide an example whereby data relating to Mobile Insulin Titration Intervention (MITI) was assessed among the low income earners. Collected data can be used by medical professionals to make recommendations. For instance, they can identify the frequency and magnitude of exercising that has led to better management of the disease. In addition, they can caution and encourage testing of the demographic that is observed to be most vulnerable groups, hence reducing the occurrence of the disease. Further, the data can be applied by policy makers in identifying the allocation of healthcare fund to various regions, prioritizing those that have high instances of diabetes. The data can be extended to realizing the scale of subsequent effects of the disease such as kidney failure and cardiovascular conditions, and using the information to monitor the already affected. Therefore, the technology involvement in care management can be effective in making public policies and campaigns relating to diabetes.
Evidently, the care management program that has integrated technology will be effective in cutting healthcare costs. The program has reduced the need for patients to visit hospitals due to its promotion of self-management through the use of technology, which offers for convenience for both the patient and physician. In addition, the program has eased the collection of data, which can help in identifying the vulnerable groups, and by advising them, the instances of diabetes reduce and so does the cost of healthcare. Regular testing will as well imply early diagnosis, which leads to cheaper forms of management. Educating the people through the devices leads to more awareness about prevention and management, which have the effect of reducing the healthcare cost. Observably, by the care management program providing for convenience in addressing diabetes, it can be applied in the transition from the fee-for-service to self-management and other models that are founded on improved technology.
References
Hunt, C. W. (2015). Technology and diabetes self-management: An integrative review. World Journal of Diabetes, 6(2), 225. https://doi.org/10.4239/wjd.v6.i2.225
National Health Expenditure Accounts. (n.d.). National health expenditures 2017 highlights. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/highlights.pdf
Fisher, L., & Dickinson, W. P. (2011, January). New technologies to advance self-management support in diabetes. Diabetes Care, pp. 240–243. Retrieved from https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/34/1/240
Shan, R., Sarkar, S., & Martin, S. S. (2019, June 1). Digital health technology and mobile devices for the management of diabetes mellitus: State of the art. Diabetologia. Springer Verlag.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
