Current Issues in the Behavioral Healthcare System

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In the course project assignments of the past four weeks, you have written on various topics dealing with trends and issues in the behavioral healthcare system. Those weekly project assignments can be used as references for writing your final research paper.

In addition, read and incorporate the following articles from the EBSCO host database into your paper:

• Deakin, A. (2004, November). Finding your organization’s hidden        treasure. Behavioral Health Management, 24(6), 27-29.
• Droppa, D., & Luczak, R. (2004, January). Collaboration, technology,and outcomes—A recipe to improve service delivery.Behavioral Health Management, 24(1), 41-44.

To complete the research paper, you will need to include an introduction and conclusion section as well as a title page and reference section. The title of the research paper will be the Current Issues in the Behavioral Healthcare System.

Your final paper is due for submission. The paper should adhere to the following guidelines:

• The length of the paper should be eight to ten double-spaced pages (not including the title and reference pages).
• The main sections should have a:
  • Title page
  • Introduction
  • Body of the paper (with subheadings)
  • Conclusion
  • Reference page(s)
• The paper must use the APA format for citing sources and references.

Your final paper introduction (one page) should include the following points:

• An overview of the research paper
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• The purpose or objective of the research paper

The body of the paper (five to six pages) should address each of the following topics using information learned in the course, in combination with outside references:

• Based on your previous assignments and review of the literature, what are some of the major issues faced by today’s behavioral healthcare system? How have the current and future trends that are evolving in the industry addressed some of those issues?
• Do you think there is a difference between the changing trends taking place in the private sector and that of public behavioral healthcare inpatient facilities? Based on your understanding about behavioral health services and the populations being served by them, do you agree that both private and public organizations are able to provide the necessary clinical services? Provide a rationale in support of your response.
• In behavioral healthcare, outcomes are the established norm for measuring the success or lack of services. What are some of the major challenges in collecting the data needed to support and report behavioral health outcomes? Provide a rationale for your response.
• Quality of care and services is an important part of an outcome-based strategy. The objective behind maintaining and improving quality is to provide competent and efficient services to consumers. In your opinion, do the current regulatory and accreditation standards for the behavioral health industry help to meet that objective? How?

Your conclusion (one to two pages) should include the following points:

• What conclusions can you draw from your research that would demonstrate the role played by behavioral health in the healthcare industry?
• What changes would you like to bring to today’s behavioral healthcare system in order to resolve the current issues identified?
• Based on your literature review, if you were asked to conduct a formal research project on any of the topics discussed in the research paper, what would your choice be and why?

1. Based on the textbook’s summary of Timothy’s philosophy of continually striving for excellence, determine whether or not Scarlet Hospital was prepared to compete with the establishment in Salem even before the highway improvement mandated such an upgrade in delivery health care services.
2. Examine the potential lessons that the “Stopping Outshopping” case could teach health care executives about complacency.
3. Evaluate the potential value of Michael Porter’s Five Forces analysis and SWOT Analysis for effective decision making, in its ability to help Scarlet Hospital protect its market share and thus decrease the chance of losing patients to other institutions in Salem.
4. Appraise the value of the Balanced Scorecard model in its ability to help Scarlet Hospital executives reinforce its defensive marketing strategy.
5. Propose a one (1) page offensive marketing strategy (i.e. communication, branding, innovation, etc.) that Scarlet Hospital should deploy in order to turn the table on Salam-based health care providers and improve its competitive marketing position.

Health Insurance Benefits

Managers need to understand the impact on the financial viability of a health service organization for providing care to the uninsured or underinsured. Review the following case scenario and provide a substantive 150 to 200 word response that thoroughly answers each of the following questions:

Joe Smith is a 27- year-old Caucasian male who works two part-time jobs for two different construction companies. Joe has been having dizzy spells off and on for the past two months. While driving to work one day, he loses consciousness and is involved in a motor vehicle accident. Joe is admitted to your not-for-profit hospital with a broken leg and multiple lacerations.

• Does Mr. Smith fit the typical profile for an uninsured person in the United States? Justify your answer.
• How will your hospital most likely be reimbursed for Mr. Smith’s medical care?
• During the recent economic downturn, your community has experienced unemployment rates of approximately 9%.  What can be done to mitigate the effects of the financial impact to your organization?
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According to the Department of Health and Human Services (2002), the nation’s capacity to respond to bioterrorism depends largely on the ability of clinicians and public health officials to detect, manage, and effectively communicate in advance of and during a bioterrorism event.

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Prepare a narrated presentation, using PowerPoint or other similar software, detailing a bioterrorism-related issue, analyzing the threat(s) that the bioterrorism-related issue poses.

In preparation for your presentation, research and review at least one (1) healthcare facility’s preparedness plan. Note: A video to help students record narration for the PowerPoint presentation is available in the course shell.

Prepare a twenty (20) slide presentation in which you:

1. Specify the key steps that healthcare managers should follow in preparing their organizations for a potential bioterrorism attack.
2. Outline at least two (2) possible early detection and surveillance strategies, and investigate the main ways those strategies may prompt timely interventions to effectively treat and diminish the impact of a bioterrorism threat.
3. Evaluate the specific preparation steps in the preparedness plan of a healthcare facility of your choosing.
4. Suggest at least one (1) possible improvement to promote early detection and enhanced surveillance.
5. Use at least four (4) recent (within the last five [5] years), quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Apply decision making models to address difficult management situations.
• Develop policies that ensure compliance of healthcare delivery systems with current legislation.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in Health Care Operations Management.

Head-to-Toe Assessment

For this assignment, perform a complete head-to-toe assessment on one of your chosen participants. Your analysis should include the following:

• Topical headings to delineate systems.
• For any system for which you do not have equipment, explain how you would do the assessment.
• Detailed review of each system with normal and abnormal findings, along with normal laboratory findings for client age.
• An analysis of age-specific risk reduction, health screen, and immunizations.
• Your expectation of normal findings and what might indicate abnormal findings in your review of systems.
• The differential diagnosis (disease) associated with possible abnormal findings.
• A plan of care (including nursing diagnosis, interventions, evaluation).
• Client and age-appropriate evidenced based practice strategies for health promotion.
• Pharmacological treatments that can be used to address health issues for this client.

Provide your answers in a 6- to 7-page Microsoft Word document.

Support your responses with examples.

Cite any sources in APA format.

Submission Details

Name your document SU_NSG3012_W4_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Incorporate topical heading to delineate systems =

o    Perform a full head to toe patient assessment.  Ensure the proper identification within your paper of each system you are assessing. For example: Cardiac- than describe your cardiac assessment of your patient, Respiratory- than describe your respiratory assessment of your patient, etc.

o    For any system for which you do not have equipment, explain how you would perform the assessment =

o    Explain how you as a healthcare provider, would conduct a physical assessment without medical equipment. For example, palpation techniques.

o    Provided a detailed review of each system with normal and abnormal findings and included normal laboratory findings for client age=

o    Provide a detailed patient physical assessment for each major system (cardiac, respiratory, etc.), within a patient SOAP note, ensuring to provide both normal and abnormal patient assessment findings along with appropriate laboratory data.

o    Analyzed and explained age specific risk reduction health screen and immunizations =

o    Explain the age specific risk (the elderly and pediatric populations) to consider during the health screen and the possible needed immunizations. 

o    Provided expectations of normal findings and indicated abnormal findings in your patients review of systems =

o    Create a full review of each system for a patient, head to toe assessment. Ensure to explain the normal findings, as well as possible abnormal findings in some areas. The abnormal findings will assist you to form appropriate nursing diagnosis and interventions.

o    Analyzed and described the differential diagnosis (disease) associated with possible abnormal findings =

o    What are possible differential diagnosis (diseases) for your patient related to the health assessment.

o    Designed a plan of care including nursing diagnosis, interventions, evaluation =

o    Pick one or two main nursing diagnoses (NANDA approved) for your patient (s) based on your assessment findings. The formation of the nursing diagnosis must be: The nursing diagnosis related to (state the main reason the patient falls into this nursing diagnosis) as evidence by (states patient signs and symptoms that support the nursing diagnosis chosen.) For example: “Acute pain R/T bleeding along urinary tract AEB patient reports of pain 10 out of 10.

o    Client and age-appropriate evidenced based practice strategies for health promotion

o    Pharmacological treatments that can be used to address health issues for this client

o    Written components =

o    Ensure proper APA format. If you need assistance with APA format, please visit the “Academic Resources” section within the classroom, here you will find numerous sources to ensure academic success, including an APA guide.