The objective of this study is to answer as to whether when comparing health care to other business sectors if there is a difference between the relationship between quality and cost and to answer why or why not. In other business sectors, the consumer public demands that quality be realized in products according to the cost of those products. However, in health care, the consumer public has been somewhat demoralized and has not made their demands for quality as related to costs. According to a Rand (2005) report, there are multiple dimensions of quality when it comes to healthcare. Specifically stated to be elements of quality health care are such as people getting the care they need, and needing the care they get. In addition, an element of quality health care is acquiring safe and timely, patient-centered care that is equitably and efficiently delivered. Rand reports that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states findings that 1.12 million problems with patient safety were reported in 1.07 million hospitalizations and that the problems were in surgical admissions at a rate of 34%, in obstetrics admissions at a rate of 31% and in medical admissions at a rate of 35%. Of these events, 17% arose from negligence. With these facts in mind as compared to the same types of incidents in other business sectors, it is certain that in the other business sectors that these kinds of negligent errors would spell doom for a business. The health care system costs, in comparison to quality of services, perform poorly in providing value for money invested. While the consumer public in reality has the power to rein in health care spending and to demand higher quality, the public is dependent on its providers for their very lives in many cases. For this reason, the U.S. health care system has run amok with little in the way of regard for the many errors that it makes and with no thought to the loss of quality of life and even loss of life that results from such negligence in providing quality care for which such high costs are incurred.
- Overview of Health Care: A Population Perspective (nd) Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Retrieved from: http://www.jblearning.com
- U. S. Health Care: Facts About Cost, Access, and Quality. (2005) Rand Corporation. Retrieved from: http://www.rand.org/
