Using the case study below, develop a written report of your market analysis. In

Question

Using the case study below, develop a written report of your market analysis. Include a visual diagram of your overall market analysis use of strategic thinking maps (see diagram in the Module) as a tool to assist with the different facets of the strategic planning process.

The map is to be used as a supplement for your written market analysis. The market analysis produced will be used in the final submission of your Capstone Project.

Your well-written market analysis should meet the following requirements:

Be 3-4 pages in length, not including the cover, abstract (optional), or reference pages.

Utilize headings to organize the content.

Include the strategic thinking map in addition to/or as a part of the 3-4 pages of content.

Include a minimum of four references with associated in-text citations.

The circumstances in Pocahontas County resonate in many rural communities across the country:

• A depressed local economy

• Substantial barriers to health access

• Difficulty in attracting health professionals.

Portrait of Pocahontas County

Pocahontas County is located in the southeast region of West Virginia. The county has a total of 942 square miles and is the site of the head waters for eight rivers: Cherry River, Cranberry River, Elk River, Ganley River, Greenbriar River, Tygart Valley River, Williams River, and Shaver Fork of the Cheat River. Pocahontas County consists of the following towns: Arborale, Bartow, Buckeye, Cass, Dunmore, Durbin, Greenbank, Hillsboro, Marlington, and Slatyfork.

As of the 2010 Census there are 9,131 people residing in Pocahontas County. The racial makeup is 98% Caucasian, .78% African American, .43% Hispanic, .14% Asian, and .07% Native American. The median income for a household within the county is $26,401.

Access to Health Services

Pocahontas County has a shortage of healthcare providers. There is one hospital, Pocahontas Memorial Hospital, and one nursing home, Pocahontas Center. The ratio for dentists is 8,851 to 1. The ratio for primary care physicians is 8508 to 1 (County Health Roadmaps & Rankings, n.d.). The county’s physician-to-population ratio is significantly higher than the Unites States overall ratio.

Pocahontas Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed, level-4 trauma center. A rural health clinic is located within the hospital. The health clinic offers laboratory services, immunizations, disease management, and monthly specialty clinics (cardiology, podiatry, and nephrology).

For more information about Pocahontas Memorial Hospital, visit the following website:

http://www.pmhwv.org/

Explanation / Answer

Health care Limitations

Executive summary

The health care industry which is also known as the health economy or the medical industry is a broad industry which specializes in the delivery of services regarding treatment of diseases, conducting diagnostic services and therapies to identify various diseases so at to understand the kind of treatment to be subjected to such diseases (World Health Organization. (2002). the industry also offers curative and preventive measures to patients.

Health sector is therefore imperative, and paramount to all people regales of their age, race, origin, nationality or even culture and it needs to be addressed with a lot of concern and carefulness to ensure proper services to these people who are in need are well catered for to enhance a healthy nation since without a healthy people, the country's economy will always derail.

Health care is one of the limited commodity. This means that all people can not easily access it due to various factors surrounding the industry. The industry has for many years faced a lot of changes either in technology and other various advancements and this, therefore, this has created disparities and difference in the nation where it is only the wealthy who can easily access the health care facilities and services. All these factors have contributed to health care limitation regarding service delivery and access to these services regardless of your income, financial status and capabilities.

The desire to provide, receive and access to high quality and affordable healthcare services for both the health care personnel’s and patients has become a great challenge and this has been caused by the complexity of the systems surrounding the entire healthcare industry.

This paper will mainly discuss some of the limitations which have been faced in the health care, but mostly it will narrowly be based on the limitations which have contributed to health care access to many people in the United States. The argument will mainly be based on the rural communities as well as narrowly on the urban communities since in many rural areas, health care services have been limited, and this has contributed to the emergence of such limitations in Healthcare sector. The paper will be based on defining the problem faced the review of the literature as well as providing a long-term solution which will enhance effective delivery of healthcare services o both the local and the urban communities hence reducing all disparities witnessed in the health sector. This based on a detailed research to evaluate various issues, have a thorough comparison of all these factors and later come up with a sufficient solution to the problem.

Healthcare Limitations

Introduction

Healthcare Industry is one of the fastest growing industries across the world as well as in the United States. It is one of the most important sectors across the world since it mainly deals with the process of saving the lives of people especially those who are sick and ensuring every individual is assured of good and quality health. The healthcare industry is divided into many various sectors and industries which include the pharmaceuticals which deal with the manufacture of the different drugs needed for consumption use in medical perspective, and also managed health care which assures provision of high-quality services to all its customers. The sector also plays a major role in the economy of the United States since it is one of the paramount industries which determine the country's Gross Domestic Product for the country. The health sector is also important since it creates employment opportunities to the professionals who are aligned to the healthcare sector.

In Its Quest to offer high-quality services to all the patients, the industry has experienced various technological transformation which includes the process of embracing new technological, medical facilities to effect its delivery process. The old clinical methods and equipment which were used, are slowly losing their stern in the healthcare sector due to the introduction of the newer technological equipment's meant for diagnosis of diseases. These changes are mainly intended to ensure health problems are declining, and those diseases which could be diagnosed are quickly diagnosed, and appropriate treatment referred immediately.

Although the technological advancements in the healthcare sector are contributing to the better delivery of services, the health of people is primarily determined by their ability to access the healthcare facility. The healthcare policies outline out that their core business of operation is to help the patients receive high-quality services and ensure their well-being hence caring for humanity but on the contrary this is turning out to be different from the reality. This is because many of these patients are ignored when they want to receive these paramount services due to some factors which the patients is not capable of fulfilling such demands by the health sector (Robertson, M. J., & Cousineau, M. R. (2015).

This has made the accessibility of these healthcare services difficult and nightmare to many. A large number of individuals or people, especially those in the rural areas and some in the urban centers have not been able to access these healthcare services. Ideally, accessibility of health care services should be a primary factor since disparities causes division of unfair distribution of the available resources to all people in a country and therefore regardless of the nature of the individual, financial status or race, primarily they should be able to access the health care services but on contrary this has not been the case hence one of the biggest limitation in the health care industry.

Therefore for Many residents to sufficiently have the ability to have access to healthcare services, necessary actions and steps need to be embraced and initiated to ensure this is actualized, and this will effectively reduce all these limitations and barriers surrounding the access to health care for all people especially those in the rural communities.

Problem analysis

Health care service delivery is a basic need for every person since, in one of every individual’s lifetime, they will require such services. The service is very necessary for that it improves health through the process of offering treatment, conducting diagnostic therapies, prevention of various diseases and illness as well as handling all kinds of mental impairments in human beings. All these are factors influencing the well-being of being and therefore the importance of having the healthcare sector.

Many customers who include the patients yearn to have high quality, affordable and efficient health care services since all their trust is bestowed to these health care centers. But amidst being their desire and hope to receive such adorable services, their outcry has been in vain since this has not been realized due to one significant limitation and barrier which is the access to such health care services. It has been a big challenge for many patients both in the rural communities and those in the urban regions regarding the access to health care services which have been termed as an essential need for every individual.

Accessing health care services has been a major problem to many if not to all hence a challenge for the government and other relevant bodies in their quest to offer high quality and affordable services. Access to high quality, affordable and comprehensive health care is very paramount in that it helps to promote and also maintain high standards of health, it also helps to prevent and treat various diseases and complications of health affecting the patients, detection and diagnosis of illness, ascertains and increases life expectancy since sickness or illness kills but through these services offered in medical facilities, treatment is assured and through the treatment the well-being is restored. Access to health care guarantees higher standards of living and quality of life through maintaining overall physical, social and also mental health status.

To have access to high-quality, affordable and comprehensive health care, there are some regulations or steps which a patient need to bear in mind. One of them is gaining an entry into health care system. Having an entry has been a great challenge to many individuals basically due to some constraints which the patients encounter in day to day live. Some of these limitations include the financial constraints in that when the patient has no enough funds to finance his or her treatment, it will be hard for them to gain entry to this health care system.

Another factor contributing to the failure of the accessibility of the health care system is the geographical location of these health care centers. There are health care services which may be of high-quality as well as comprehensive but a limitation to access them has been the geographic location in that, the patients don't have the means to access the place. One of the factors which can contribute to this is the lack of appropriate transportation system hence making it difficult for one to access the health center at all-time round.

Lastly, the availability of highly qualified and well-trusted heath care providers or personnel's can be a limitation to the access to the health care. Patients need someone whom they can share openly and have a constant and confidential communication with one another such that the personnel will hold every situation under all circumstances private. This is because the medical ethics advocates for privacy for all the information given to the providers by the patient since this increase confidence and trust of the patients.

The above therefore is clear evidence that the there are limitations in healthcare regarding the access to affordable, high quality and highly comprehensive health systems. Some of the well-known limitations or barriers witnessed in health care services which make accessibility of the health are system difficult include;

The situations are serious in that lack of access to appropriate healthcare services may lead to many worse issues and situations. One of the impacts is that there is increase in both child and adult mortality rates due to the failure of easy access to the health are services.

Workforce shortages

This is one of the factors which are inhibiting the access to comprehensive and affordable health care services. Many of the health care services lack enough medical professionals, and therefore there is no enough delivery of appropriate services since those who are administering the services are limited, and they can only serve few people at a time. According to HRSA Data Warehouse information, it was evident that 60 % the primary health care personnel's and the professional shortage is experienced in many rural areas. This means the few the professional the high time it will take for one to acquire such services since the services are provided based upon the first come, first serve criteria even when one's case is an emergency. Every patient expects to find adequate personnel's in the health care centers since this is the assurance they have even from the government, but lack of enough staff's is disastrous especially in the rural areas where the hospitals are scarcely populated, and this translates to lack of accessing the most precious service hence in many cases, patients die unattended.

Lack of health care insurance

Health insurance coverage is one of the key instruments contributing to efficient health care delivery. It is an insurance which helps to cater for people's expenses incurred during the treatment process. It covers all the bills incurred which could have been expensive for one personally to pay from his or her pocket. To acquire this insurance is liable to pay monthly premiums either to private insurance companies or in the national health insurance body. These premiums, therefore, will cater for any expense which will be incurred by the person when receiving treatment from various hospitals. The insurance is one of the best ideas because it covers all the outpatient care which entails all the medical one receives without even being admitted to a hospital, it also caters for all the treatment for inpatient care meaning the treatments done in hospitals, provides for prescription of drugs, care before and after one's baby is born as well as services and various devices which help the patient in recovering particularly if you are injured or experiencing a disorder.

Amidst all these benefits, many people have been unable to acquire this useful product just because of their financial constraints. The requirement is set to pay, Monthly premiums but this has been a challenge to many since the amount they get on a daily basis is only capable of sustaining them and their families and hence no surplus. This has made it difficult for many people to access these health care services because they have no financial capacity even when they are fully in need of medical services.

According to a policy brief of 2014, it was found out that many people in the rural areas are uninsured with a percentage of 62% compared to those in urban areas which amount to about 21.4%. This Means that in the countryside, 38% of the residents are capable of accessing high quality health services since they have insurance coverage which helps them access the services without any constraints as compared to the large percentage of the residents 62% who are not capable of accessing the health services since they cannot afford to pay for monthly premiums required by insurance bodies to cater for their expensive health care services.

High Cost of the services

Many people have shied off from accessing the health care due to lack of enough funds to cater for their treatment. The cost of accessing these services have been increasing on each day especially with the introduction of new technological equipment's and methods of drug development. The emergence and development of technology have increased the service costs. Due to high costs of service delivery, many of the patients are not capable of paying such high costs due to their financial constraints. Lack of affordability to these health care services have made it difficult for many to access the health care services.

Distance and transportation

This is another factor which has limited many people in accessing health care facilities for service delivery. Many individuals especially those in the rural areas are more likely to travel and trek for long distances to access health care services which are of high quality, affordable and with exceptional skills on various disease treatment therapies. This is because many hospitals which are affordable and are of high quality are scarcely populated. This adds more burden to the patients in that they have to spend a lot of time in search of the services as well as money which is also a scarce resource. Another challenge is that there is no reliable transportation system which could help in ferrying the patients from their regions to the health care facilities. Therefore the lack of the transportation system which is reliable is acting as a limitation to access to affordable and high-quality health care services. This is because due to the long distance, some patients may lack essential screening and treatments of diseases which could, in turn, lead to deaths. Many also have to postpone their visits to the health care because they have no enough transportation fare hence increasing more suffering and problems.

Possible solutions

While many claim that having access to health care is not guarantee to good health, but it is necessary since it helps to prevent some diseases hence improve livelihood standards by increasing one's life expectancy in one way or the other. The access to quality health care has been a headache and struggle to many, and therefore some steps need to be initiated and implemented to ensure that every individual can have access to the health care facilities.

One of the possible solutions is that hospitals can partner with the various independent transportation networks where they will help in overcoming the gap witnessed in the carriage of patients in their quest to reach the health care services. Many nonprofit independent transportation networks are operating in more than 27 communities, and therefore for many hospitals partnering with these ITNs, it will be wise ideas to bridge the gap which has emerged in the transportation of patients acting as an obstacle to the access of affordable and high-quality health services. These transport means are essential and can quickly help because they offer volunteer-based transportation in their various personal cars.

The government through a partnership with various hospitals should initiate the use of mobile clinics which are fully equipped to offer high quality and affordable services. Through the mobile clinics, everybody will have access to the health services whether in the rural communities or even those in the urban areas. They will, therefore, help in the primary care, preventive care services and also other relevant health care services like dental services. These mobile clinics can be facilitated through vans, trucks and or even buses fully equipped with the new technology-based clinical services hence providing high-quality services to patients.

The government should initiate programs which will help in improving the skills of all the available personnel’s (Allen, B. A., Juillet, L., Paquet, G., & Roy, J. (2012). This is very critical because it will necessitate in improving service delivery to all patients. Also, the government to curb the problem of work-force shortage, it should employ more personnel's, and if that is not possible, it can partner with other medical practitioners and experts who can aid in service delivery to the patients to ensure everyone can easily access the health are services.

Proposition of a single solution

Access to health care is one of the key factors which have cause limitation in this sector. Many people have not been able to access this necessary service hence more challenges in enhancing a healthy nation and productive country (Lewit, E. M., & Baker, L. S. (2013). To effectively improve effectiveness in health care access for all people, some solution measures should be initiated as indicated above but one of the most important resolution measures is through the implementation of the Federalist Approach.

Federalist Approach

The federal government has a significant role in ensuring everyone in the country has access to affordable, comprehensive and high-quality services. This is possible through funding the health care industry to provide accessibility of the services to all. The federal government can initiate a plan whereby it provides federal funds to all states to ensure there is universal health care delivery of services to all residents.

Implementation plan

Many people have failed to have access to the health care because of lack of funds, and therefore the intervention of the federal government in financing the health care would, first of all, reduce the high costs of service delivery. This will lessen the burden for many of the patients hence make it accessible to many.

Therefore the federal government should design appropriate systems which will align effectively with the state's health systems to ensure the funds are efficiently distributed, and they fulfill the purpose of their existence.

To implement this program therefore, the government should consider the group of people who will be eligible to benefit from these programs so that it can be directed to the right people since without such regulations, some people who really need the help will be left out, and other individuals who are capable of supporting themselves benefits more.

Some of the programs which the government should consider are the implementation of programs like provision of health insurance coverage, for example, the current Medicaid programs which necessarily considers those who purely are incapable of accessing the health care services due to lack of funds, For example, those who are elderly and those who are unemployed. The federal government should ensure acquisition of medical insurance coverage is not voluntary but a MUST to all, exclusive of the above mentioned, the elderly and the unemployed individuals. This will help in ensuring all people can easily access the health care services hence close the existing gap barring many people from accessing the health care.

The government should put some strategies and policies in place which will aid in monitoring all activities in the health care services and get responses from the residents so as to ensure everyone id contented and if any issues arise, response team is assigned to those areas to ensure everyone is capable of accessing affordable, high quality and comprehensive health care.

The Federal government through all these funding will eliminate the challenge and limitation of health care since through the funds, more hospitals will be built, more personnel's will be employed in hospitals and services will be accessible to all people either in the rural regions and also in urban areas.

Conclusion

Health care industry is one of largest and fastest growing industry across the globe. It is an important industry since it primarily deals with offering treatment services to human beings to assure them of healthy well-being. Many governments have invested in this sector hence being one of the most consumers of country’s Gross Domestic Product.

In the United States of America, Health care industry is highly valued because it cares for the humanity and believes that a healthy people enhance faster growth of the nation's economy. Amidst being one of the precious industries and where the government has invested a lot of money, many people suffer in search of high quality and affordable health care due to many shortcomings experienced in the industry. People are unable to access health are services due to lack of enough workforce, lack of sufficient funding to cater for the treatment process, scarcely populated medical centers hence long distances to reach a health center and lastly the lack of insurance coverage to aid in paying all expenses for treatment.

And therefore to curb this limitation, it is important for the government to initiate programs which will help in funding fully the health sector are through the provision of insurance covers, building more health care, and employing more health professionals.

References

Allen, B. A., Juillet, L., Paquet, G., & Roy, J. (2014). E-Governance & government on-line in Canada: Partnerships, people & prospects. Government Information Quarterly, 18(2), 93-104.

National Center for Health Statistics (US), & National Center for Health Services Research. (2015). Health, United States. US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration, National Center for Health Statistics.

National Center for Health Statistics (US), & National Center for Health Services Research. (2012). Health, United States. US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration, National Center for Health Statistics

People, H., & US Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). Healthy people 2010. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services, 13.

Ro, M. J., Treadwell, H. M., & Northridge, M. (2013). Community health workers and community voices: Promoting good health: A series of community voices publications. Community Voices.

World Health Organization. (2012). The world health report 2002: reducing risks, promoting a healthy life. World Health Organization.

World Health Organization. (2013). World health statistics 2010. World Health Organization.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse U
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.