Within the Discussion Board area, write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

For a health care manager, it is important to develop good communication skills with employees, peers, and supervisors. Discuss the following in regard to this:

• Discuss the types of communication and the barriers to communication. 
• Does good communication build trust in an organization? 
• Does electronic communication help or hinder organizational communication?

Be sure to support your information by citing at least 2 references using APA format.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT: 

 In response to federal policy and service requirements, health insurance plans are increasingly developing high-deductible insurance policies and narrow networks. These types of policies require the consumer to pay more out of pocket. To portray this in a positive light, this trend has been labeled as “consumer-based” to suggest that the consumer must pay more from their own funds, and thus, encourage consumers to make better health care choices. On the other hand, this could be labeled as a burden on the consumer.

Title: Consumer and Provider Costs 

Write a 350- to 525-word article that identifies and evaluates the impact that federal or state health care policies have on consumer costs. Explore both positive and negative effects.

Publish the article on your own social media account (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.), or post it on a health care message board of your choice.

Include a citation of your article in your assignment.

Cite 3 reputable references to support your assignment (e.g., trade or industry publications, government or agency websites, scholarly works, or other sources of similar quality).

SECOND ASSIGNMENT 

Post a 260- to 350-word response to the following question as a New Message into the discussion area:

• Should cultures within the United States be expected to set aside some traditions or beliefs and integrate under a united social contract?

Cite at least 2 peer-reviewed, scholarly, or similar references.

Format your citations according to APA guidelines.

Read and respond to two of your colleagues’ responses with feedback or suggestions regarding their thoughts

Assignment Content 

Select or generate a dataset that is meaningful to you and your interests in the health care industry by using one of the links below:

CDC WONDER Online Databases

HealthData.gov/Datasets

Big Cities Health Coalition

Evaluate the dataset and determine how it is valuable for improving health care operations or policies. (This requires the creation of a chart or graph to interpret the data.)

Write an 850 word report with your evaluation of the dataset and what value can be gained from it. Include the following:

1.  The source of the data

2.  Why the data is important

3.  What trends the data documents

4.  What changes in operations or policies can be made to improve quality or efficiency

Cite 3 reputable references to support your report (e.g., trade or industry publications, government or agency websites, scholarly works, or other sources of similar quality).

Format your paper according to APA guidelines. This includes an introduction, conclusion and reference page.

Include a copy of the dataset along with your report.

 

Competency

Examine legal requirements for managing patient information, health information documentation, the release of information, and electronic health records.

Instructions

You have recently been promoted to Health Services Manager at Three Mountains Regional Hospital, a small hospital located in a mid-size city in the Midwest. Three Mountains is a general medical and surgical facility with 400 beds. Last year there were approximately 62,000 emergency visits and 15,000 admissions. More than 6,000 outpatient and 10,000 inpatient surgeries were performed. Three Mountains was recently in the news after employee emails were published where patients were discussed in very negative terms. 

Due to the breach of information, many patients are skeptical about selecting Three Mountains as their hospital of choice. Even though specific names of patients were not disclosed as part of the inappropriate dissemination of information, parts of their medical records were mentioned. The patient information was not shared in a favorable light. Patients want to feel secure when they share information with their healthcare providers and be certain that it will remain private.

You will create an informational brochure educating patients about the contents of the medical record and the proper release of information. In a double-sided brochure you need to address the following topics: 

1. The Electronic Medical Record: Definition and contents of the EMR. You will want to include some of the Joint Commission’s requirements pertaining to what should be included in the medical record and when entries should be completed.
2. HIPAA/Confidentiality: Provide an overview of HIPAA and the level of confidentiality that the patient can expect from Three Mountains Regional Hospital.
3. Release of Information: Explain the process for a patient to obtain either copies or sections of their medical records. Discuss that information cannot be shared without their express permission.
4. Privacy Pledge: Craft a privacy pledge statement informing the patient that they can trust that their information will remain private.

The brochure that you will create should be a tri-fold design with two pages (the first for the outside and the second for the inside). Draw attention to your brochure by using well-placed art, an easy to read design, and use of color.

NOTE – APA formatting, and proper grammar, punctuation, and form required. APA help is available 

 

In this assignment, you will examine the ideological  struggles that underlie policymaking in the United States. This includes  the following:

• The historical legacy of fear of a strong central government and how  this fear has influenced the development of the US Constitution.
• The ideological divisions in the United States’ politics which fall primarily along a Conservative–Liberal continuum.

Research areas of social welfare policy using your textbook, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet.

Select an area of social welfare policy in which you are interested. Respond to the following:

• Identify the aspects of the policy that reflect a conservative perspective and the aspects that reflect a liberal perspective.
• Explain the impact of the mixed ideological foundation on the focus and structure of the policy.

The political ideologies of a country are very specific to its cultural history. Keeping this in mind, respond to the following:

• Discuss how the policymaking of one other country aligns with or differs from the United States due to its cultural history.
• Provide examples to explain why the policymaking is similar or different.

Write your initial response in 300–400 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By the due date assigned, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through the end of the module, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses. Cover the following items in your posts:

• Provide a statement of clarification.
• Provide a point of view with rationale.
• Challenge a point of discussion, or draw a relationship between one or more points of the discussion.