Introduction

The health care industry is a combination and aggregation of different sectors within the global economy that provides health-related products and services to treat patients from all walks of life to cure, prevent, and treat diseases. As the world’s population continues to grow, the need for health care professionals will steadily increase. Additionally, as the world becomes more polluted and unhealthy, it will become even harder to find and provide health care professionals. A health care sector that is both stable and growing can be found in almost every country in the world.

However, health care professionals are not evenly distributed around the world. In fact, there are many countries in developed countries that have a low-quality health care sector and a large number of hospitals that are poorly maintained. These hospitals often lack the basic equipment and technology that is required to provide optimal patient care and that leads to excessive and unnecessary wait time. Due to these factors, government intervention may be required in order to ensure quality standards and effective care.

Medical Device Security Risks

A medical device security is one of the newest and more difficult challenges for the healthcare industry. Cyber security experts believe that the threat is only going to increase in the years to come, given the increasing interconnectedness of devices used in almost every aspect of healthcare. In fact, nearly every healthcare organization is already well on their way to becoming a victim of malware and other harmful attacks. It is not enough to focus on prevention, but rather on repairing the damage that was done once malwares have infected your network. Medical device security must be given much thought and effort, especially since these tools are often the most valuable assets in a healthcare organization.

Implemented policies

The United States has an uneven health care industry. There are large numbers of hospitals in the U.S., which are located all over the country. Some are also found in major cities such as New York City and Los Angeles. While smaller cities do have some hospitals, they often lack professional and technological equipment needed for efficient and appropriate treatment. This leaves some patients waiting on floors, or receiving inadequate care that often leads to further complications. Because of this, the U.S. government has implemented policies that require hospitals to receive certain minimum standards of medical services and other conditions before receiving government financial assistance.

Health care packages

A major portion of the health care industry profits off of government health care aid. In fact, a recent study showed that a majority of health care providers to take advantage of these aid packages. In addition to profit, these programs do nothing to address health care issues that might arise in the future. Many people believe that these countries provide far better quality of life. However, these countries often spend a fraction of what the United States does on health care each year.

Financial strategies to increase profits

To address rising health care costs, several hospitals in the United States have created financial strategies that increase profits while lowering expenses. Most health care industries give most of their profits to the largest medical institutions that serve a large number of patients. However, there is another problem with this. These larger hospitals receive large payments from the government. By creating a large percentage of their profits through government handouts, these hospitals have the tendency to gouge their already strained finances even more.

Third-party payment programs

A recent study revealed that health care organizations in the United States spent almost twenty percent of their total budget on third-party payment programs. These third-party payment programs, which include drug manufacturers, medical device companies, hospitals and insurance companies, divert a large portion of health care dollars to their own bottom line. These companies in turn provide a lower level of health care services to patients while receiving large tax write-offs. This practice, called “fee for service,” is considered by many in the medical profession to be unnecessary and even constitutes a form of racketeering. Under the United States Health Care Reform Act, fee for service will be banned for three years starting in 2021. Although the act is effective immediately, several medical organizations are hesitant to implement the new rules, fearing that the ban will force them to re-evaluate their practices.

Utilization of health care insurance

Another cause for the increasing ratio of health care spending is the increased utilization of private health care insurance, namely private insurers. Many individuals have gained access to health care through employer benefits or government assistance programs. Some have also gained access through special health care plans created by private employers. Currently, there are approximately fifty million Americans that are covered by private health insurance plans.