Creating E"Quality" in Healthcare

Many people would think that the US health care system is the best in the world. For what it is worth and how much is invested into the system, one would think that the quality of care would be great for everyone who has access to it. But the reality of it all is that, our health care system is not the best, nor is the quality the best that it could be regardless of who or what is measuring it, it needs to be improved across the entire industry. A person's experience with health care is going to be different based on the individual, but if broken down into racial/ethnic groups, majority of whites would most likely state that the health care they receive is sufficient, while the black and Hispanic communities would claim that they receive little to no health care and that the care they do receive is not of good quality. Many questions arise to how and why these two groups are at the bottom of the "totem pole" in terms of receiving quality care.

Hispanics are fastest and the largest growing population in our country, yet their experience with health care has been the worse. According to the Sick in America Poll, Hispanics are more likely to wait for test results, receive poorly managed care, and less likely to get access to the latest technology in comparison to whites (Knox, 2012). This could possibly be due to the fact that many of these Hispanics live in areas where access to existing health care facilities with the latest technology do not exist or are too far away. Also the number of them who may not be legal citizen eliminates their chances of receiving any form of health insurance or quality of care because they can not afford the services. 31 percent of Hispanics are uninsured, compared to 21 percent of non-Hispanic blacks and 12 percent of non-Hispanic whites (Knox, 2012), and a majority of them are enrolled in the Medicaid or are eligible for Medicaid but are not enrolled. The black community is facing similar issues and like Hispanics are not receiving good quality of care. But with more of a focus on where the majority of black communities exist and their proximity to health care facilities that offer what many would consider good quality of care. Cultural competency is greatly discussed and understood by some providers, and is being addressed in an ongoing battle to lessen the gap between race, culture and health care outcomes. 

It would be too easy to quickly point to the obvious factors that stand as barricades between them and access to quality health care. Other factors such as the difference in physiological and biological traits between minorities and whites may also play a role into the type of care they are receiving. Maybe the lifestyles of cultures of these groups are creating a challenge for health facilities in terms of how they can treat these patients. It may be necessary for health care providers to adjust their 'plan of action' for care if certain minority groups are more prone to or respond differently to certain health issues than whites, who are the majority that receive health care in this country.

No matter the living situation, cultural background or the color of one's skin, we all deserve proper access to the health care. Our health care system can not continue to ignore and close their doors to the groups who are unable to poor or reach out to health care facilities, because what is one community's problem can and will eventually become our nation's problem. The health care reform that has been created is a step in the right direction in terms of expanding coverage, but the next move and most difficult will be improving the quality of care to the millions of new health care beneficiaries. There is still hope as long as we look to close the gap and resolve the issues affecting the minority groups.

Knox, R. (2012, May 31). Sick in america: hispanics grapple with cost and quality of care. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/05/31/154063427/sick-in-america-hispanics-grapple-with-cost-and-quality-of-care