Access to Healthcare

Community health centers provide primary health care services to more than 22 million people across the United States. Each health center provides for the unique needs of patients in its immediate community. Many of the patients that are seen at health centers represent uninsured or underinsured patients and/or those with limited access to healthcare. This assignment will help you identify service delivery needs and provide quality recommendations for improving access to healthcare.

Read the following case study from your textbook:

• Case 20: Big      Brother is Watching: Utilizing Clinical Decision Support as a Tool to Limit Adverse Drug Events

Then, do the following:

• Conduct research on “community health centers” by reviewing the National Association of Community Health Centers website at About Our Health Centers – NACHC 
• Choose a geographic region or location and research the types of services delivered at the community health centers in that area.
• Describe the location including the demographics such as race and ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, age, education level, morbidity and mortality statistics, and other common or relevant health statistics.
• Identify the other social services that are available to your selected community to strengthen and sustain the community health system in the location you have chosen.
• Identify and discuss the barriers to access to healthcare.
• Explain how healthcare providers can improve access to quality care and reach their target population.

Write a 3 to 5-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_W1_A3.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_W1_A3.doc.

Make sure to provide evidence-based research to support your work. Provide examples of how particular strategies were previously implemented and worked. Address the policy, systems, and environmental changes that may be needed to help support change in the community health center.

Note: References should be peer-reviewed scientific articles and APA format.