Homework 1

1. Milestones

Discuss the origins of government involvement in healthcare delivery in the United States. What were some of the key milestones and their impacts? What are Titles 18, 19, and 21 and describe their relationships to the milestones?

2. Managed Care

Managed care is a very broad term and means different things in different markets; explain why. Describe your own local market in terms of managed care intensity.

3. Industry Standards

What is a benchmark? How are they used in health care? How may they help us improve the quality of care, access, and allocate funding? Give an example of a:

• Clinical benchmark
• Financial benchmark
• Operational benchmark

4. Providers of Health Care

Who are the providers of health services? Who are considered the mid-level providers? Where do allied health providers fit in the realm of patient care? Provide at least two examples of each level and type of health provider, i.e., physicians, mid-level, and allied health. Describe their roles, credentials, training, authority, and limitations in regard to patient care. HINT: The MD and DO are in the driver's seat.

5. Ambulatory Care

What trends are we seeing in the most common forms of physician medical practices (clinics) and other ambulatory care at this time?

Describe the changing forms of physician practice and ambulatory care in the U.S. as a result of managed care. Support your answer.

6. Hospital Organization

Cite and briefly describe the roles of the three primary sources of power in modern U.S. hospitals. Which do you feel has the greatest amount of power? Support your decision with examples and primary sources.

During this module, you are required to complete and submit a homework assignment by responding to six questions.

Homework assignments are to be written in a Q & A format. This is different from the short application papers that must be in APA formatting. However, it is imperative that with all answered questions where the student uses another author's concepts, statistics, numbers, or graphics that the source be both cited and referenced. All references should be complete and in APA formatting. Please make sure your name, date, and assignment name is on your homework.

There is no approved length for your answers. Your answers should be succinct and appropriate responses to the questions asked.

Paraphrasing the homework questions in your answers will help ensure that you will answer all parts of each question.