Final answer:
Quality assurance in healthcare involves balancing treatment costs, patient quality of life, and privacy concerns. The U.S. seeks efficiency while ensuring high-quality care, despite issues with costs and access. The challenge is to strike a balance between quality, access, and cost in healthcare.
Step-by-step explanation:
Quality assurance practices in healthcare are vital to ensuring that patients receive the highest standards of care while balancing the costs of treatments, quality of life, and privacy risks. To address these concerns, policies must be developed by asking key questions: How can we equitably balance the costs of treatments and diagnoses with the quality of life outcomes for patients? What methods can we implement to continue to enhance the privacy of health records while promoting the sharing of digital records among health providers? How can organizations around the world bring down healthcare costs while increasing the quality of the care given?
As discussed in the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality's 2019 report, the U.S. healthcare system, though largely private, has been shifting towards efficiency models, including consolidation in the 1990s known as 'merger mania,' the rise of urgent care facilities, and the use of telemedicine. However, while the U.S. system is known for high-quality care and medical innovations, it faces challenges such as high costs and access to basic medical care for all. By contrast, other countries may offer lower costs and more equal access but struggle with rapid accessibility and offering cutting-edge treatments. The ongoing challenge lies in creating a healthcare system that finds the right balance between quality care, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness.