There is no doubt that the United States is currently facing a period with an increased demand for registered nurses (RNs) and physicians. While increasing efforts to import RNs and international medical graduates seems to be a feasible and profitable strategy to avert such a shortage, I tend to agree that this movement of healthcare professionals is detrimental to less developed countries. Many of these countries have already fragile health care and cannot afford to lose large numbers of their nursing and medical staff because it cripples their health care systems. In addition, due to substantial …show more content…
America’s high cost of insurance leaves millions of people underinsured or uninsured. Even with insurance most people cannot afford the medical care they require due to high co-payments and deductibles. As a result, more patients seek care outside the U.S. where treatment is reasonably priced. On the other hand, significant waiting list in other countries and improvement in both technology and standards of care in our, drives a growing number of patients to head to the States. However, I am inclined to believe that these are only wealthy foreigners who are able to pay for our pricey medical services.
As far as global outsourcing, I share the concern for patient privacy. As a foreign nurse I can attest that patient privacy laws differ in Europe and the U.S. significantly. For instance, breaches of confidentiality of medical information are prevalent and rarely punished in some Eastern European countries. However, I can see the advantages of global outsourcing outweighing the disadvantages. Despite possible confidentiality breaches and other drawbacks, I agree with hospitals’ practice to use outsourcing to achieve cost reductions and other important …show more content…
As a country with so much to offer in terms of generating economic wealth and political freedom, the U.S. has attracted and will continue to attract millions of immigrants in the future years. According to the US Census Bureau (2012), by 2043 the minority populations will become the majority. With immigration there is an influx of both highly educated and less educated immigrants. As a result, the US health care institutions are seeing an increase in a diverse population, both in the workforce and its customers.
Consequently, inclusion and cultural competency is critical in delivering high-quality patient care. In the coming years we are going to see more committees that will recruit and educate diverse staff and committees that are going to work to create a more inclusive environment for both staff and the