Healthcare Reform

Health care reform in the United States has been undertaken by the Obama administration with the aim of ensuring that all citizens of the country are able to attain medical services at reasonable costs. The cornerstone of this policy has been disease prevention so that the number of individuals who are actually being treated for  diseases is reduced significantly. Furthermore, the new health care system has been designed to move from a treatment oriented initiative to one which is based more on the prevention of diseases because this is the only way through which diseases can be combated and gotten rid of completely.

There has developed a national prevention strategy which is meant to find the most effective way that can be used to ensure that a disease prevention oriented society is developed. In this way, the society will be able to take measures, through being made aware of potential threats towards their health, to protect themselves against disease (Hogg,  Baskerville and Lemelin 20). Nurses in such a scenario will play a significant role because with their knowledge of the various conditions at hand, they will be able to deal directly with members of their communities to ensure that potential diseases are dealt with effectively. The government has created a preventive task force which has been designed to find ways of dealing with diseases before they occur through the use of evidence-based medicine and this has been done to ensure that steps are taken to reduce the impact of disease on individuals in the society. This task force includes nurses, who, with their training, and in conjunction with other medical professionals, are capable of identifying and working towards the prevention of diseases before they reach critical stages.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government developed a scheme through which disease can be prevented as a result of the transformation of the societies or communities within which Americans live. One of the biggest causes of disease in the United States is the environment within which individuals live and where they spend most of their time. In most cases, environments which are unclean or where there is industrial activity whose waste is not disposed properly, have the most potential of bringing about serious medical conditions for members of that community (Chang, Hays, Shekelle, et al 665). The federal government has dedicated itself to the awarding of grants for such areas so that members of these communities can be able to live in an environment that is disease free. Nursing plays a serious role in ensuring that information concerning such areas as well as the medical conditions that affect members of these communities is brought to the public. As the principle caregivers in most circumstances, nurses are often the ones who witness firsthand the effect of the environment on individuals and this is the reason why they are important in helping to establish preventative measures against diverse medical conditions. Among the initiatives that nursing might play a role in is improving the living environment of communities.

One of the goals of the Affrodable Care Act is to ensure that all Americans are able to live longer and more productive lives as a result of being able to access low cost health care. While this may be the case, the objective of helping Americans live longer cannot succeed without the involvement of the nursing profession because it is the latter that makes it possible for communities to develop initiatives that prevent disease and promote health. The federal government has expressed its willingness to support such initiatives through the provision of funding at a state and community level (Smith, Alexander, and Beech). This funding would, however, go to waste if caregivers such as nurses were not active participants in the initiatives because it is they who have a better understanding, through their day to day interactions, how the members of the community live and what they need to ensure that disease among them is prevented. Furthermore, nurses play a significant role in matters concernignt the screening process of some conditions which might lead to diseases. For example, nurses might take part in the screening and treatment process of an individual who is suspected of suffering from depression and doing so will prevent this condition from leading to far worse conditions such as mental disorders. Moreover, alcohol misuse has become a serious problem in the society and it has been responsible for the development of diverse medical conditions which are extremely difficult to treat. Nursing can play a role in the prevention of alcohol misuse leading to serious disease through taking care of individuals in rehabilitation so that they can recover from their habit and return to normal lives unhampered by disease.

In conclusion, health care reform has made it possible for the federal government to develop a scheme through which disease can be prevented as a result of the transformation of the societies or communities within which Americans live. Furthermore, there has developed a national prevention strategy which is meant to find the most effective way that can be used to ensure that a disease prevention oriented society rather than one based on treatment. In both of these schemes, as has been seen above, nursing has an active role to play since nurses are often the primary caregivers in most communities.