Healthcare in Nursing: Latest Results

Healthcare in nursing is vital in the everyday life of people, communities, and countries. Clinical, administrative, and support staff work together to ensure healthcare is accessible to all. Are you a nursing student looking to explore more about healthcare? In this blog, you will learn about types of healthcare systems, healthcare models, healthcare vs. medical care, and hot topics you can consider while conducting healthcare research.

What is healthcare in nursing

Healthcare is the enhancement of health through diagnosis, rehabilitation, prevention, treatment, or cure of diseases, injuries, or mental and physical impairment. It’s delivered by nurses, doctors, health organizations, and other health professionals. Access to healthcare differs depending on individuals, communities, and countries, determined by economic and social conditions and health policy.

To access healthcare, you must consider financial considerations, logical and geographic barriers, personal limitations, sociocultural expectations, and poor health literacy. Healthcare is essential in providing general well-being and mental and physical health for individuals worldwide.

Health services are central to ensuring health care is of high quality, patient-centered, and accessible for all. Different types of health providers are essential to ensure successful health services.

What is the difference between health care and medical care?

Medical care is a professional service where the doctor and patient’s trust lies, which provides new remedies, surgeries, procedures, and medication to cure illness. It also provides vaccination to protect you from diseases and cancer.

The doctor examines your condition, performs the necessary diagnosis, and finds a solution to your illness. On the other hand, healthcare is a business to make a profit which hires nurses, doctors, medical assistants, billing clerks, etc. It includes CEO salaries, administration costs, insurance premiums, and insurance denials. The purpose of healthcare is to make revenue which depends on the number of visits and orders that are coming in.

Types of healthcare systems

The healthcare system maintains the community’s health, cuts the cost of expensive medical bills, and provides health services to the sick. Four healthcare models aim to meet the needs of the community; the Bismarck Model, the Income model, the Beveridge Model, and the National Health Insurance Model. Some countries build their system on one model, while others use a combination.

1. The Bismarck model

The Bismarck Model was named after Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian chancellor. It uses private insurance agencies called sick funds, which are run as non-profits and are supposed to accept all citizens without discrimination. Both employer and employee contribute to the insurance policy through compulsory payroll deduction. The employees have access to the sickness fund, but the insurance company does not benefit financially.

The Bismarck model is mixed, incorporates public and private health providers, and allows flexible spending on healthcare. Hospitals and providers are private, while insurers are public. Some countries have a single insurer, while others have multiple competing insurers, although the government runs pricing.

Bismarck’s healthcare model has lower waiting times, higher accessibility, and high-quality and consumer-oriented healthcare. The criticism of Bismarck’s model is how to provide care to those unable to work, like the aging population. This model is found in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, and Japan.

2. The Beveridge model

Beveridge’s model was named after a social informer, William Beveridge, who came up with Britain’s Health Service. This healthcare model is financed and provided by the state via tax payment. Healthcare clinics are managed by the state or privately maintained with government funds, and most health workers are government employees.

This system has a low cost per capita since the government, which is the sole payer, instructs doctors on what or how to charge. The condemnation of this system is the likelihood of long waiting queues since everybody has a guarantee to access healthcare leading to increased cost and over-utilization. The Beveridge system is used in New Zealand, Great Britain, Spain, Hong Kong, Cuba, and most of Scandinavia.

3. The income model

The income model is common in developing countries where the healthcare system is not established due to a lack of finance. In this model, patients must pay for healthcare services from their pocket. The wealthy get professional medical care, while the poor community is denied access since they can’t afford to pay.

Healthcare in this model is driven by income, where many people in rural and isolated areas can go their entire life without ever accessing healthcare. This system has no health insurance system, and taxes are not raised to provide healthcare for all citizens. This system is mostly used in rural areas in Africa, China, India, and South America and in underinsured or uninsured populations in the US.

4. The national health insurance system

The national health insurance system incorporates both Bismarck and Beveridge models. Like in the Bismarck model, the private organization provides healthcare service delivery, and the government funds healthcare services through taxation like in the Beveridge model. This system covers a lot of procedures regardless of income.

The government reduces duplication of services and processes all claims, reducing insurance administration costs. The criticism of this model is that it limits the medical usefulness because you must pay for it, and patients are made to wait for a long to be treated. Long waiting and treatment delays are pressing health policy issues. This model is mostly used in South Korea, Taiwan, and Canada.

Levels of healthcare systems

There are three levels of healthcare systems; primary, secondary, and tertiary.

1. Primary care

Primary care is the first contact between the patient and the health professional, public health nurse, physician, midwife, etc. It provides a wide scope of healthcare, including patients of all ages, from different geographic areas, and patients from all types of chronic illnesses. It may also involve child health and maternal care services such as vaccination and family planning.

Primary care practitioners must have a wide range of knowledge in all areas. The patient may be referred to secondary or tertiary care depending on the health condition.

2. Secondary care

Secondary care is a treatment for a short period for serious illness or injury. Health providers in secondary care include clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, physiotherapies, dental specialists, occupational therapists, etc. It includes skilled attendance during intensive care, childbirth, emergency department, or imaging service.

In some cases, medical specialists may see patients with self-referral, while in other cases, a referral from another physician is considered necessary regardless of the funding.

3. Tertiary care

Tertiary care is a specialized consultation for inpatients referred from primary or secondary levels in a facility with advanced equipment for medical investigation and treatment. Tertiary care services include plastic surgery, cardiac surgery, cancer management, palliative care, and other complex surgical and medical services.

Hot healthcare research topics

Choosing an appropriate healthcare research topic is challenging. You should select a topic that will grab your readers’ attention, inspire other researchers in the future, showcase your knowledge, and progress in your studies. If you don’t know where to start with your healthcare research paper, we have listed several research topics that you should consider below;

1. Public usage and spending of mental health service
2. Identification and comparison of medical health organization
3. Role of nurses in environmental health
4. Importance of healing in the environment in healthcare systems
5. Health promotion plan on nutrition and weight status
6. Health promotion in family pediatrics
7. Importance of nutrition health in geriatric care
8. Concept of health medical organization
9. Threats of psychological health problems
10. Trends of human resource management in healthcare
11. Effects of evidence-based practice on global health
12. Family health assessment in nursing
13. Standards of information technology in healthcare
14. Role of health promotion in public health
15. Impact of environmental changes on human health
16. Role and practice of health promotion
17. Influence of social inequalities on health
18. Nursing role in American healthcare policy
19. Pediatric healthcare service in the united state
20. Functions of electronic health records
21. Health risks associated with male circumcision
22. Components of effective healthcare
23. Feature of healthcare governance
24. Impact of genetically modified foods on human health
25. Future trends in healthcare
26. Impact of stress on psychological health
27. Global health issues
28. What are the most common mental health problems?
29. Strategies for promoting health for obese patients
30. Effects of environmental pollution on health
31. Health education plan
32. Role of nursing in the improvement of patient health
33. Effects of environmental change on health
34. Problems of healthcare in South Africa
35. Causes and treatment of virus infection
36. Opportunities and challenges of the financial crisis
37. Management of hospital emergencies during an epidemic
38. Legal issues and medical malpractice
39. Side effects of oral contraception
40. Benefits of early cancer detection

Bottom line

Healthcare in nursing is essential as it promotes health through diagnosis, cure, rehabilitation, and treatment of diseases individual, communities, and countries. Healthcare should be accessible to all regardless of financial status or age to enhance healthy living. Use this blog to understand healthcare in nursing and get some ideas on the best topics for research.