Essay on Clinical Preventive Services

Preventive Services

Preventive services include medical care, accorded a population to improve their state of health. Population health is one crucial matter that any government considers vital for economic development. As such, ensuring preventive services for a population can help promote the health of individuals. Vulnerable people in the population should be accorded preventive services early enough to curtail any further damage or fatalities. Healthcare services such as medical check-ups, patient counseling, and screening prove to help reduce fatalities associated with diseases. Under the Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, every health plan is required to have a set of preventive services that it offers to people for free. Insurance firms selling plans are required to comply with the standards that are set in the marketplace (Kurth, Krist, Borsky, Baumann, Curry, Davidson & Herzstein, 2018). Preventive services improve the health of the general population, which means better productivity.

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 provided that any American who did not enroll was taxed. Policyholders under the act do not have to pay a deductible to receive preventive services, which would have been expensive otherwise. The law covers preventive medical services for adults, women, and children. In the US, most preventive services are covered under basic insurance health plans. Children and women are taken care of separately in the act that aims to ensure essential services for all Americans. Diabetic screening, obesity, HIV screening, and diet counseling are some of the services that adults enjoy. Women enjoy free cancer screening, anemia screening, and other pregnancy-related privileges. Children can undergo free behavioral assessments, autism screening, hearing screening for newborns, and developmental screening. The government of the United States should aim to improve the sector since prevention is better than cure.

Ways to Promote and Overcome Barriers

To ensure maximum enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, the government of the United States imposed a tax on any individual who did not comply. As such, the first way to promote preventive care is through policies and other standards in the market. The government has to ensure that its population is kept healthy and free from impending risks. Policies that enhance free screening and medical check-ups should be put in place to ensure risks are prevented (Satcher, 2017). Government policies play a crucial role in determining the general health of a particular population. For instance, the taxation of individuals who do not enroll in such programs can play as an appropriate strategy. However, upon the election of Trump, the tax cuts imposed have changed the operations of the care act. There is a need to ensure that conditions that can be treated are noted at a stage that allows recovery possible.

Population health can be promoted by creating awareness on the importance of preventive services to the people. Awareness will help people value the essence of having access to such services at any time. When one is conscious of their health status, it is easier to control their habits and stay safe. For instance, HIV screening is vital as it can help one realize they are infected and should go for medication. Such moves help improve the health of the general population sustainably. The fact that basic insurance plans have such services covered in their schemes makes it important enough in the society (Frean, Gruber & Sommers, 2017). Preventive services for chronic diseases are essential for the community to detect any infections early for medication. Ensuring services are accessible to many within the community is a boost towards promoting the health of the population.

Barriers towards the establishment of a sustainable clinical preventive strategy should be curtailed to ensure goals are achieved. For instance, the lack of well-trained clinical personnel that can run an awareness campaign is a significant problem (Ventola, 2016). Practitioners already employed by the government and insurance companies are less compared to the whole population that they are supposed to help. The increased number of clients and the minimum number of clinical practitioners make awareness campaigns almost impossible. Inadequate funding is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. Fewer funds compromise the quality and quantity of the population that can be able to receive preventative services effectively. More resources to the sector can improve efforts to ensure a healthy population in the long-run.

Recommended services for free screening should include medical services for chronic diseases, obesity, pregnancy-related complications, HIV screening, and contraception. An example of preventive services is contraception that many receive for free. Failure to administer and implement the provision of such clinical services might prove consequential to the health of the population. Preventative care aims to help the society stay healthy and reduce fatalities related to health concerns. A healthy population does not require more funds to treat diseases that could have been prevented. Healthy populations are productive to their economies hence the need for the United States to advocate for more preventive services. Screening and free check-up for all conditions should be done ore regularly to determine the health status of the entire population. With improved preventive services in the society, maintaining a healthy population is possible.

References

Frean, M., Gruber, J., & Sommers, B. D. (2017). Premium subsidies, the mandate, and Medicaid expansion: Coverage effects of the Affordable Care Act. Journal of Health Economics, 53, 72-86.

Kurth, A. E., Krist, A. H., Borsky, A. E., Baumann, L. C., Curry, S. J., Davidson, K. W., … & Herzstein, J. (2018). US Preventive Services Task Force methods to communicate and disseminate clinical preventive services recommendations. American journal of preventive medicine, 54(1), S81-S87.

Satcher, D. (2017). Preventive interventions: an immediate priority.

Ventola, C. L. (2016). Immunization in the United States: recommendations, barriers, and measures to improve compliance: part 1: childhood vaccinations. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 41(7), 426.