What impact will these trends have on the overall quality of care in Essay

What impact will these trends have on the overall quality of care in the state of Pennsylvania, and what will our system have to do differently in the future - Essay Example For example, the total number of non- acute and speciality hospitals in 2003 were 85. These numbers progressed over the years and in 2012, the total number of non- acute and speciality hospitals in the state was 92. This meant that there was an 8% growth over the years. When compared to the total number of general acute licensed hospitals the numbers in 2003 were at 181. However, over the years the numbers decreased to 158 in 2012. This translated to a 13% decline in the numbers of general acute licensed hospitals in the state. Based on these figures, it meant that more hospitals were gearing to offer speciality care to patients as compared to general care. Hence, efficiency in general care was compromised as the fewer licensed hospitals that had remained were the ones handling all patients who had minor health challenges. Decreasing number of physicians: The state has experienced a decreasing number of physicians over the years in a number of specialities. According to HAP (2014), it was established that the numbers of physicians in areas such as: emergency medicine; paediatrics; family practice; general surgery; orthopaedic surgery; internal medicine; radiology; cardiology; obstetrics and gynaecology had decreased in the state. In addition to that, it was also mentioned that by 2015, the existing shortage of qualified physicians would quadruple to approximately 39,600 physicians. Moreover, it was also stated that the shortage of RN specialists would reach approximately 22,600 by 2017. The impacts of these trends are that the overall quality of care and efficiency of disbursed care to patients in the state has already been affected. If no action is undertaken soon, these trends could cripple the health care state in Pennsylvania in the coming years. Degradation of the existing health care systems: The existing health care systems in the state of Pennsylvania are not reliable. That is, the hospitals as well as the