Health Care Utilization
Utilization of Health Care
Jarrod K. Hinkle
HCS/235March 23, 2013Jennifer Hitt |
Health Care Utilization John Q.’s situation is unfortunately common in the United States today. Many Americans cannot afford health insurance. Many of those who cannot afford health insurance choose to receive medical attention, not pay the medical bills, and ignore the collection’s calls and attempts to collect the medical debt or they do not receive health care. Others are self-pay and pay for their health care as needed and out-of-pocket. Some, like John Q., decide to use Medicaid to obtain health care. Medicaid allows those who normally would go without yearly doctor visits, hospitalizations, and medications to utilize the health care services they need. There are many factors that prevent John from utilizing the health care available to him through Medicare. The factors affecting John Q.’s utilization of Medicaid’s health care are location, transportation, education, occupation, income level, gender, and need. The location is a 40-minute drive from his home, and he relies on public transportation and friends to drive him where he needs to go. If John Q. furthers his education, he could change his occupation to qualify for a better, higher paying job and increase his income. He is a male and “studies have consistently shown that women use more health care services than men” (Bertakis, Azari, & Helms, 2000, p. 147). His need is a factor that affects his utilization of health care services, which is “determined by his personal perceptions” (Barsukiewicz, PhD, Raffel, PhD, & Raffel, PhD, 2010, Chapter 4).
Top of Form
Bottom of Form The categories for his factors preventing him from utilizing health care are predisposing, enabling, and need. The factors in the predisposing category are demographics, which include his gender and social structure, which includes education, occupation, and location. The enabling factors John Q. faces are personal, which include
Jarrod K. Hinkle
HCS/235March 23, 2013Jennifer Hitt |
Health Care Utilization John Q.’s situation is unfortunately common in the United States today. Many Americans cannot afford health insurance. Many of those who cannot afford health insurance choose to receive medical attention, not pay the medical bills, and ignore the collection’s calls and attempts to collect the medical debt or they do not receive health care. Others are self-pay and pay for their health care as needed and out-of-pocket. Some, like John Q., decide to use Medicaid to obtain health care. Medicaid allows those who normally would go without yearly doctor visits, hospitalizations, and medications to utilize the health care services they need. There are many factors that prevent John from utilizing the health care available to him through Medicare. The factors affecting John Q.’s utilization of Medicaid’s health care are location, transportation, education, occupation, income level, gender, and need. The location is a 40-minute drive from his home, and he relies on public transportation and friends to drive him where he needs to go. If John Q. furthers his education, he could change his occupation to qualify for a better, higher paying job and increase his income. He is a male and “studies have consistently shown that women use more health care services than men” (Bertakis, Azari, & Helms, 2000, p. 147). His need is a factor that affects his utilization of health care services, which is “determined by his personal perceptions” (Barsukiewicz, PhD, Raffel, PhD, & Raffel, PhD, 2010, Chapter 4).
Top of Form
Bottom of Form The categories for his factors preventing him from utilizing health care are predisposing, enabling, and need. The factors in the predisposing category are demographics, which include his gender and social structure, which includes education, occupation, and location. The enabling factors John Q. faces are personal, which include
References: Barsukiewicz, PhD, C. K., Raffel, PhD, M. W., & Raffel, PhD, N. K. (2010). The U.S. health systems. origins and functions (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Bertakis, K. D., Azari, R., & Helms, L. J. (2000, February). Gender Differences in the Utilization of Health Care Services. Journal of Family Practice, 49(2), 147. Retrieved from http://av4kc7fg4g.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Gender+differences+in+the+utilization+of+health+care+services&rft.jtitle=The+Journal+of+family+practice&rft.au=Bertakis%2C+K+D&rft.au=Azari%2C+R&rft.au=Helms%2C+L+J&rft.au=Callahan%2C+E+J&rft.date=2000-02-01&rft.issn=0094-3509&rft.eissn=1533-7294&rft.volume=49&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=147&rft_id=info:pmid/10718692&rft.externalDocID=10718692