The Evolution of Health Care Systems

The Evolution of Health Care Systems

Many believe that 50 years ago, the health care system was, understandably, rather backward. At that time, only a limited number of illnesses can be accurately diagnosed, and even upon a diagnosis, treatment was often not readily available, or involved complicated surgical procedures that had threatening risks and high failure rates due to the lack of development and technological advancement in medical equipments and other paraphernalia. However, with the evolution of time, it is reasonable that the health care system has come a rather long way with marked improvement in the quality of the health care provided whether in government hospitals, or private medical institutions. For instance, “once-terminal diseases are now manageable - like AIDS - and even curable - like many cancers” (Spear & Berwick). There are also increasingly sophisticated medical equipments that could detect previously undetected illnesses as knowledge of the medical field is expanded across the globe through the brilliant minds of many doctors and scientists. Also, effective care are now being provided at a more broad spectrum for chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, psychological disorders, and et cetera as the cost and expenses of such care is being minimized through various means. It is therefore natural to assume (and rightly at that) that the health care delivery system would also evolve at the same time. This paper will thus examine the influence of the evolution of health care delivery system on the current managed care system.
According to Medline Plus, managed care plans are “health insurance plans that contract with health care providers and medical facilities to provide care for members at reduced costs.” The plans vary in their flexibility based on the cost of the plan. For instance, for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) usually pay only for care within the network of the plan with a primary care doctor that is in charge of most of the client’s care (Medline...