Pick a topic in Health Care of interest. It can be in the field that the class member is currently working in or an area of special interest. The paper should 1) describe the area of interest, 2) Critique the current leadership/management of the area and 3) most important – from the class readings and lectures suggest changes that would improve leadership. The paper should be between 10-15 typed pages (double spaced) and include references.

 The World Health Organization has defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1946, p. 100). During the last several decades, medical achievements have produces impressive results. Healthcare has enabled people across the globe to live longer and healthier lives than ever before (Garrett, 2017). There are many models of healthcare delivery systems around the world which have been designed to correspond with the healthcare needs of targeted populations. In some places, health care systems have evolved without a specific plan. In other, the evolution of healthcare services has been meticulously coordinated in order to ensure the delivery of planned healthcare services to the population they serve. Due to the ever increasing costs of health related services, healthcare delivery is of growing importance in public finances and in the overall economy of countries like the United States (Stone, 2017).
An Overview of the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System
The vast majority of developed countries have government-led healthcare systems which are financed through taxes. Almost every citizen in these countries is insured trough a specific healthcare program which allows access to routine and basic healthcare services. These systems are commonly known as ‘’universal access’’. The United States of America has a different system of healthcare delivery where the privilege to enjoy the right to health insurance does not apply automatically. The U.S. healthcare delivery system cannot be regarded as a system in its true sense. The word system is used to describe its various components and services. Hence, it may be somewhat misleading to talk about the American healthcare delivery system because the true system does not exist (Jonas, Goldsteen, Goldsteen, & Jonas, 2013).
Healthcare delivery system in the United States is characterized by fragmentation which causes people to obtain healthcare services through different means at the practice, community, municipality, state and national level. The U.S. healthcare system includes three complex and integral interrelated components. The first component of this system includes the people who are in need of health care services and who are also referred to as healthcare consumers. The second component is made of professionals and practitioners or health care providers who deliver healthcare services. The third component of this system is the institutional component which includes public and private agencies that organize, plan, regulate, finance, and coordinate services, hospitals, clinics, and home-health agencies as well as the insurance companies and programs that pay for services. Beside the previously mentioned, the institutional component also includes medical education centers, public health sector, dental healthcare providers and supporting health care professions like nursing. The quality control agencies, professional associations and societies, licensing bodies and companies in charge of developing medical technology and pharmaceuticals are also listed under this category (Jonas, Goldsteen, Goldsteen, & Jonas, 2013).   Although the U.S. healthcare delivery system has evolved, the enormous challenges of expanding accessibility to healthcare services still remain.
Components of the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System