Healthcare in the United States: Challenges Influencing Change and its Impact on Patient Health

Healthcare in the United States is always in a constant state of change due to its connection to politics. When looking at global healthcare, what stands out to me the most is that several countries around the world provide a constant level of healthcare to their citizens despite changes in their political structure—especially those countries providing universal healthcare to their citizens. One of the main factors that drives the conversation surrounding this topic is whether healthcare is human right or not. While the United States continues to go back and forth regarding issues in our broken healthcare system such as funding for Medicare and Medicaid for which there is no general agreement, other countries have taken the politics out of healthcare and are deciding on ways to provide the best and most optimal services for their patients to improve both outcomes and perceptions. In a lot of ways, the US has a lot of catching up to do, but why is this the case? Is the United States too large to provide and execute consistent care to its citizens across all 50 states? Are there too many voices that have a say in healthcare? Or are there too little? While the answers to these questions may only have a part to do with the way healthcare is currently in the United States, what is clear is that the United States needs to find a way to improve both health outcomes and patient experiences in the future.

Although the US today remains low in the ranks of healthcare, there have been numerous attempts to positively change the system. One of the most recent changes in the healthcare system that has played an important role in my family’s life is the removal of the pre-existing conditions clause from insurances through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Throughout pharmacy school we have learned the impact that medication errors can have on patient health and the potential consequences of making unintentional errors when providing care to patients. What is not always talked about is the extent to which these errors can impact patients’ lives. Almost 12 years ago before the ACA had come to be and during a transition period in my dad’s employment, he suffered from an unintentional mistake during an outpatient procedure. The effects of this mistake have been chronic and progressive and prevented him from receiving insurance coverage through his next employer due to his new preexisting condition. While things are much different now, I remember the burden back then and it is an experience that will continue to shape the way I deliver patient care. Though this event is unique to me and my family, medication-related and surgical errors can have long-lasting impact on patients and it is something that we, as student pharmacists, should be mindful of during our future years in practice. While the US healthcare system has a ways to go to improve, I hope that the impact of such changes will continue to positively impact patient lives.