Final answer:
Patient-centered care is dedicated to providing patients with access to information and supporting their decision-making, aimed at better health outcomes and reduced disparities. Ethical principles such as autonomy and beneficence guide health policies. A balanced healthcare system aims at achieving high quality, equal access, and cost-efficiency.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of providing patients with access to information, support, resources, and opportunities to optimize their health and participate in decision-making is encapsulated in patient-centered care. This approach emphasizes the importance of health literacy, allowing individuals to use the information given to them to make informed decisions that lead to better health outcomes. It involves a commitment to ensuring that people have family and social support, as well as access to health care, which ultimately helps in reducing disparities in health. Moreover, the need to implement culturally specific research data collection tools is crucial to increase diversity and inclusion and to encourage the research participation of African Americans to reduce existing health inequities.
Furthermore, when considering the implementation of policies, especially those concerning electronic health records, it is essential to balance different aspects such as the costs of treatments and diagnoses, patient quality of life, and risks to individual privacy. The principle of autonomy is a guiding ethical standard that says patients have the right to exercise agency in health care decisions. Concurrently, policies must adhere to the principle of beneficence, which stipulates actions should benefit others.
Similarly, challenges faced by the U.S. health system, which provides high-quality care and innovation yet struggles with high costs and equitable access, underscore the need for a systemic balance. In contrast, other countries may have lower costs and more equal access but struggle to provide the most up-to-date care or rapid access. Addressing these complex issues requires a healthcare system that strikes the right balance between quality, access, and cost.