5 Healthcare Issues in the United States

Introduction
Recent times have been hard for everyone, but no other industry has been hit as hard as the healthcare industry.
The quality and speed at which the needed healthcare is brought to the people in need in the country are of more importance now than ever before.
However, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, there are still issues within the healthcare industry in the United States.
This list breaks down 5 ongoing issues regarding healthcare in the country.

High Cost of Services
Over the past few years, there has been an evident increase in prices in regard to receiving health care of any kind within the country.
This is due to the fact that the cost of receiving such services has also been increasing as the years go by in the country.
This is not only a problem due to the increasing cost, but the number of people needing medical attention will find it harder to achieve such care due to limited resources of money to spend for their health care needs.

Shortage of Nurses and Physicians
Every year the demand for more physicians and nurses increases significantly. This is even more true today in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing many healthcare workers to be brought to and occupy hospitals across the country.
As the years pass by, more and more people are needing medical attention, however, as a result, fewer physicians and nurses are available for these patient counts rising in the industry because sadly not enough people enter the medical field to keep up with the demands of the country.

High Cost of Prescription Drugs
Not only does the United States have one of the highest costs for receiving care, but also has one of the highest costs for prescription drugs as well.
Pharmacists are involved in the drug discovery process, drug safety studies, formulation of dosage forms, clinical trials, marketing and management. These are all very important roles that they play in the healthcare industry.
Aside from the high cost of care that patients need to be aware of, there are also the prescription drugs provided by the physicians afterwards that add more to the cost of the overall expenditures an individual will have in the United States when it comes to receiving treatment and medicine.

Lack of Insurance
Unlike the neighbouring country of Canada with universal health care provided to the public, the United States operates more on a direct payment method. There is no universal insurance in the United States, therefore, every individual is expected to pay for the costs of care and other expenditures themselves which most of the time are outright expensive service costs.

Many Mistakes in Medical Procedures
Many of the medical staff in the United States are sleep-deprived and often more prone to make mistakes when it comes to conducting several procedures from diagnosing a patient to even performing surgeries.
This is due to the fact that was pointed out at #2 on this list with the lack of physicians and nurses overall in the country. This lack of physicians and nurses often causes many of them to work overtime to take care of the many patients coming in, especially in the current unprecedented pandemic period.

Conclusion
The United States still has quite a few issues with regard to quality and efficiency in health care for its people.
There are issues such as a lack of physicians and nurses, the high cost of services and prescribed drugs, and the lack of a reliable insurance option for people who live in the country.
Will the United States be able to overcome its issues with its health care?

Sources:
https://www.medifind.com/news/post/problems-us-healthcare-system
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2019
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/13-4-problems-of-health-care-in-the-united-states/