BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 1 Health Production Function

Health Production Function Sample Paper

Current state of the organization and potential changes that align with trends

University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC) is a non-profit organization that provides community healthcare to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, local community. For more than a decade, the institution has been providing a range of healthcare services for the Pittsburgh community. The current state of UPMC with regards to its alignment with the historical trends in the healthcare industry concerns its potential to improve poor customer satisfaction ratings and its currently outdated equipment. Patients are continually expecting more out of their hospital visits. Therefore, health institutions must pay attention to every detail that influences customer satisfaction, from how they are greeted at the main entrance to the length of waiting time at the emergency room and how the service providers interact with them (Gooch, 2019 BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 1 Health Production Function).

According to O’Neill & Cosentino (2020 BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 1 Health Production Function), reduced satisfaction ratings can contribute to reduced insurance reimbursement claims from the health insurance schemes, leading to poor hospital reputations and reduced revenue. Consequently, health organizations need to update their services and align themselves to the current trends in the healthcare industry. As per Rapport et al. (2019), this adaptability should be in all the critical areas of healthcare services, including reimbursement regulations, workflow adjustments, tele-pharmacy, telemedicine, and any other areas that can improve patient satisfaction and organizational profitability.

In this regard, Vogenberg and Santilli (2018) argued that healthcare leaders must always be prepared for change and have the skills for implementing beneficial changes that come with either advancement in healthcare technology or general industry development. By being on the lookout for change, healthcare leaders secure the health and well-being of patients and the general welfare of employees. Health organizations must therefore be ready for any change that comes by.

The other recommendation given by O’Neill & Cosentino (2020) is that healthcare leaders must pay attention to changes in patient behavior and respond to them accordingly. Healthcare leaders must timely, transparently communicate with both patients and employees to ensure efficient delivery of satisfactory services. Lastly, the leaders must be engaged, proactive, and committed to any future changes within the healthcare industry.

Current Programs

UPMC department of dialysis center contributes a large percentage of minority communities in Pittsburgh, who can hardly afford good healthcare. The community members experience various health problems including chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. UPMC formed the Diabetes Prevention Support Center University of Pittsburgh, whose main objective is to develop strategies for reducing and managing diabetes within the community. Apart from diagnosing and educating community members, the program provides dialysis treatment to both insured and non-insured members of the community. For the program to effectively operate, some of the inputs required include nurses, physicians, funding to purchase dialysis equipment. Utilizing these outputs will yield various outputs including improved community awareness about diabetes, including the importance of physical exercise and healthy eating. The Diabetes Prevention Support Center University of Pittsburgh has currently impacted hundreds of residences in Pittsburgh.

The second program run by UPMC is the UPMC Men’s Healthcare, which is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting men’s reproductive health. The program specializes in absent or delayed ejaculation, lower testosterone, male infertility, premature ejaculation, and pyronine’s disease. The program encourages men to live a healthy sexual life through regular sexual health check-ups, a healthy diet, and physical activity. For the program to be successful, the facility requires various inputs such as funding for equipment, educational resources, and staffing. Many men have benefited from the program (Trent, 2021).

Resource Allocation and Reflection

I would propose an increase in funding for the Diabetes Prevention Support Centre based on Pittsburgh’s projected prevalence rate of diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2019), there was a slight decrease in diabetes prevalence rate from 10.9% in 2018 to 10.2% in 2019. However, as per the same reports, this decrease is still relatively higher than the benchmark average of 10.1%, meaning that more effort is still needed in the fight against diabetes within Pittsburgh. Furthermore, as per the CDC (2020 BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 1 Health Production Function), diabetes is currently ranked the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, contributing to an average of 225 deaths yearly. As such, there must be a concerted effort by healthcare institutions towards reducing the prevalence of diabetes, especially among low-income earners. This can be achieved by increasing the funding directed towards the Diabetes Prevention Support Centre University of Pittsburgh program.

Regarding UPMC Men’s Healthcare program, I propose that the current funding levels should be maintained but with a contingency plan for any future adjustments that may be needed. Currently, reproductive health conditions are among the leading causes of death in the United States De Jonge and Barratt (2019), making it an important area of focus and investment by healthcare organizations. Moreover, because stakeholders in the UPMC Men’s Healthcare program are focused on positive outcomes, they should maintain the program’s funding to yield consistent results. Otherwise, they should consider reallocating the funds to other healthcare programs that can show reasonable results.

BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 1 Health Production Function References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (2019). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence Data (2011 to present). Accessed 17^th January 2022 from https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/Behavioral-Risk-Factors/Behavioral-Risk-Factor-Surveillance-System-BRFSS-P/dttw-5yxu
CDC. (2020). National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-statreport.
De Jonge, C., & Barratt, C. L. (2019). The present crisis in male reproductive health: an urgent need for a political, social, and research roadmap. Andrology, 7(6), 762-768. https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.12673
Gooch, K. (2019). Healthcare Leaders Share Daily Habits to Improve Patient Experience. Beckers Review. Retrieved from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospitalmanagement-administration/14-healthcare-leaders-share-tips-for-improving-the-patientexperience.
O’Neill, M., & Cosentino, D. (2020). Healthcare Industry Trends of 2020. ECG. Retrieved from https://www.ecgmc.com/thought-leadership/blog/2020-healthcare-industry-trends
Rapport, F., Hibbert, P., Baysari, M., Long, J. C., Seah, R., Zheng, W. Y., Jones, C., Preece, K., & Braithwaite, J. (2019). What Do Patients Really Want? An in-depth Examination of Patient Experience in Four Australian Hospitals. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), 38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-3881-z
Trent, C. (2021). Enhancing Quality Primary & Specialty Care: Improving The Health Care Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Patients at UPMC Community Medicine, Inc (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh). http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/40536
Vogenberg, F. R., & Santilli, J. (2018). Healthcare Trends for 2018. American Health & Drug Benefits, 11(1), 48–54.

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BHA-FPX 4112 Assessment 1 Health Production Function