Question

Include at least two problems or issues facing the health care industry that you would like us to explore during this course? Elaborate on them and include an explanation of why they are crucial to a well functioning health care system.

Answer 1

The two problems which the healthcare industry is facing is maintaining the confidentiality of customers' personal information and shortage of healthcare professionals in the industry, particularly in the hospitals located in the far flung regions where very few of the healthcare workers wish to serve.

The first issue is one of the most crucial issues because of focus of many healthcare facilities to switch to electronic medical records which are easy to maintain and  share, while  reducing many of the pitfalls associated with the manual data management. The electronic data management also come with threat of getting leaked by internal as well as external players, acting both locally and virtually, leading to serious breach of patients' privacy, which might lead to loss of credibility of hospital and legal action among others.

The second issue is vital because it is a serious hinderance in ensuring the availability of healthcare in the areas where very few of the good quality medical practitioners are willing to locate to and practice. Telemedicine is a solution but in many cases, the round the clock physical presence of the healthcare staff has no alternative. The consequences are avoidable casualities and hardships on the part of the people who are deprived of quality healthcare.