Introduction

According to the studies conducted by LoBiondo-Wood & Haber (2014), public healthcare organizations that provide medical services must ensure not only the safety of patients but also the quality of services. The medical organizations must provide healthcare services without any form of bias or discrimination based on gender and race to drive effective delivery of services to the patients especially during emergencies. It is, therefore, critical to realize that this paper provides a comprehensive proposal on the necessary procedures during the provision of emergency medical attention, the measures instituted to promote electronic medical records systems, the need to accept the healthcare insurance during emergency periods as well as the effects of quality care during emergency treatment.

The procedures related to public health services

There are five primary procedures that our organization puts more emphasis on that relates to the essential public health services. It is these procedures that determine the safety of the inpatients as well as the outpatients during the emergency period. According to the findings of LoBiondo-Wood & Haber (2014), the campaign is vital to all the societies that surround the organization. For example, they contribute to the ultimate intention to create public awareness among the people so that the people can unite together to fight the challenges of healthcare while also assisting each other in the passing of relevant information that relates to the potential dangers in the medical organization (Yao et al., 2012). It is, therefore, vital to know that this procedure describes one of the primary essential healthcare services known as mobilization of community partnerships as well as challenges as a way of solving health-related problems. The process is meant to alert the healthcare management during impending dangers based on the good relations between the institution and the neighborhood.  The management uses this type of information received from the surrounding community to health patients effectively during emergency period to save as many patients as possible.

There exist other procedures applied by the physicians ensure that all patients in the organization are attended to and also given treatment quickly enough to save the lives of patients. The procedure also enables quick discharge of the patients who are feeling better to eliminate the problem of congestion because the hospital only has 600 beds for the patients. It is thus crucial to realize that this procedure is related to the essential health services of evaluation, accessibility, the effectiveness of the personnel and quality services in a populated healthcare system. It is a fact that received support from the studies of Bowling, (2014) that observed that these types of procedures help the healthcare delivery process during the emergency periods. For instance, it helps to maintain the required minimum number of patients that is quickly manageable during the emergency.

It is also vital to know that following instruction during emergencies is also an effective procedure that relates to essential healthcare services. For instance, the policies, regulations, and rules formulated by the government as well as EMTALA provide more efficiency. It is a procedure that overly relates to the essential healthcare services that enforce the laws as well as regulations. Remember laws protect any organization by guaranteeing the safety of the patients. The rules also promote accountability on the part of the healthcare providers during an emergency because the regulations punish any physicians who fail to discharge their duties. However, on the issues of crisis, it is Rittenhouse, Shortell & Fisher, (2009) that argues the procedure allows the organization to make sure that all the patients who need close medical attention are placed in the most secure areas to receive enhanced medical care based on the rules and regulations of the healthcare services.

The other procedure is the one that ensures the surrounding community adequately informed about the issues of health. Providing the community with the right information involves giving education especially on the need to follow proper measures to prevent health risks which are dangerous (Rittenhouse, Shortell & Fisher, 2009). It is also essential to inform them about the importance of helping each other based on the spirit of brotherhood to save each other during emergency periods. It is this procedure that relates to the essential health service of the healthcare organization to inform, empower people through education. This procedure is vital because it equips everyone in the community including the patients who are admitted to have the needed information on healthcare safety, especially on emergencies.

The last procedure that I will discuss is the ability of the healthcare management and physicians to be creative and innovative. It is important to realize that creativity and innovation bring new ways of effectively dealing with healthcare challenges. It is mostly based on the provision of a conducive environment that allows everybody else in the organization to come up with effective mechanisms to protect the healthcare organization from the dangers of terrorism as well as other forms of threat that can also potentially lead to the destruction of the organization. For instance, according to the studies conducted by Bowling, (2014), creativity, as well as innovation, enables the healthcare providers to come up with practical ways to help the patients during emergencies. The procedure is based on aspects such as researching new insights that provide an elegant solution during emergencies.

Importance of continuing to evaluate patients

Evaluating patients during emergencies are essential. For instance, the Emergency Medical Treatment, as well as Active Labor Act, provides that all healthcare organizations must consistently assess patients. LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, (2014) also argues that whether the patient is a minor or an adult, employed or unemployed, it is the responsibility of the healthcare organization to screen and also evaluate the patients presented to the organization to enable them to know if the organization requires emergency medical attention.

It is important to note that EMTALA offers three principal directions that elaborately deal with the needs of the patients. These principal directions help in the evaluation of the patient to determine if the patient needs emergency care or not (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2014). The directions include

• Medical screening and examination
• Stabilization and transfer of patients that require emergency medical attention
• Organizations with stabilization facilities must willing fully allow patients from all backgrounds such as the ones who can meet their medical care costs as well as the ones who are unable to do so

EMTALA puts more emphasis on evaluation of patients in all healthcare organizations because it is the ethical standard of governing medical care and facilities such as beneficence and non-maleficence that require all physicians to do well to all patients and avoid harm. Even Keenan, Yakel& Handel, (2013) supports that the healthcare organizations must attend to the patients first while also assisting them to get good health before their patient’s ability to meet their medical expense is verified. It is also a way of making sure that physicians avoid any form of bias based on gender and race. Remember the element of discrimination that allows the healthcare organizations to discriminate others based on color or gender is something that EMTALA vigorously fight. It is the responsibility of the healthcare organizations to make sure that all patients are given the best medical attention without discrimination during an emergency.

Measures to maintain the use of EMR during emergence

Three measures exist that enables the physicians to continue using EMR in the healthcare organizations especially on the issues of emergencies even though it is costly (Keenan, Yakel & Handel, 2013). For instance, the management should develop more incentives to the physicians to adopt the use of electronic medical records. It can be promoted through the provision of a stimulus payment system to the physicians to encourage them to use electronic medical records since they are efficient during emergencies for healthcare organizations.

The organizations should also work hard to strengthen their regulations and policies. And it is essential for the policies and regulations to be followed by stringent penalties for the physicians who feel reluctant to use electronic medical records. For instance, the physicians found not to be using EMR should attract a penalty of denying the organizations they work for specific amounts of reimbursement funds (Bowling, 2014). It is an aspect that will force the physicians to adopt and use the EMR during emergencies in the healthcare organizations where they work. It is also vital for the organizations to begin to adopt seminars as well as workshops to educate physicians on the need to use EMR in saving the lives of many patients during emergencies because they are fast and also automatic hence reducing the amount of time spent on one patient. The physicians should be continuously reminded to use EMR to maintain proper care during emergencies.

The decision to accept health insurance during the emergence

Health insurance is very vital during emergencies. It provides a potential source of income that is needed for medical expenses. There are many Americans who have died due to lack of health insurance that comes with the inability to meet ones medical expenses during emergencies. The best example happened in the 2014 New York Presbyterian Hospital (Pines & Hollander, 2008). Some patients died because they received delayed medical attention due to lack of medical covers and inadequate funds. Almost 90% of those who were admitted that day could not raise funds for emergency medical attention Hospital (Pines & Hollander, 2008). It is this aspect that prompted to the physicians to delay their medical attention because they were reluctant to support them. The research that was conducted by the Wall Street Journal also indicates that people who have had their lives saved during emergencies have sustained a source of income or health insurance covers (Yao, Xu, Szalacha, Tschannen & Wilkie, 2012). The number of patients who have been from Cook County for medical services due to inadequate funds so that they can get medical attention elsewhere has risen to 87% since 2014 while the once that were transferred show almost 42% dying before they could receive any medical care to the places they were being moved.

Effect of emergency to the quality of care

The emergency brings positive and negative effects on the quality of care provided. For instance, it is important to realize that a crisis can potentially enable patients to be quickly attended to as a way to have their lives saved without evaluating their financial abilities. It is, therefore, critical to know that medical attention given to patients during emergencies can prolong their lives. It is also true that crises contribute to adverse effect such as the chance of a physician hurrying up to save the patient without putting more focus on the quality of care provided. Emergency, therefore, results in the poor quality of services on the premise of saving lives and responding to the emergency conditions. There is always the panic and tension and panic that result during emergencies. It can also lead to poor quality of care provided to the patients.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there exist five major procedures that inform the provision of adequate healthcare services in healthcare organizations especially during emergency periods. For instance, they include following the established rules and procedures to effectively help patients to get emergency medical attention, beginning campaigns that promote awareness in the communities through the organization of workshops, seminars, penalties and incentives that encourages the use of electronic medical data and records during emergencies. It is also essential for hospitals to accept insurance during emergencies because many lives can be lost during emergencies due to lack of medical covers.

References

Bowling, A. (2014). Research methods in health: investigating health and health services. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Keenan, G. M., Yakel, E., Handel, B. R. (2013). Adverse selection and inertia in health insurance markets: When nudging hurts. The American Economic Review, 103(7), 2643-2682.

LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (2014). Nursing research: Methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Pines, J. M., & Hollander, J. E. (2008). Emergency department crowding is associated with poor care for patients with severe pain. Annals of emergency medicine, 51(1), 1-5.

Rittenhouse, D. R., Shortell, S. M., & Fisher, E. S. (2009). Primary care and accountable care—two essential elements of delivery-system reform. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(24), 2301-2303.

Yao, Y., Xu, D., Szalacha, L., Tschannen, D., … & Wilkie, D. J. (2012). Maintaining a Consistent Big Picture: Meaningful Use of a Web‐based POC EHR System. International journal of nursing knowledge, 23(3), 119-133.