EXTERNAL CAPABILITY 14: UTILIZATION AND ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
Receiving healthcare when needed
Overview
Functioning 1. Serious symptoms of poor health conditions (e.g., shortness of breath, frequent or severe headaches, chest pain, lump in breast, fever, back or neck pain, loss of consciousness)
Functioning 2. Morbid symptoms of poor health conditions (e.g., sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, pain in knee or hip, fatigue or extreme tiredness, difficulty hearing, fall or other major injury)
Agency 1. Perception of the need to see a health provider when experiencing a serious or morbid health symptom
Agency 2. Ability to obtain health services when there is a perceived need
Agency 3. Presence of barriers (e.g., geographic, financial, linguistic) to access and utilization of services
What is it?
Utilization and access to high quality health services is the external capability of seeking and being able to obtain health services when health care was thought to be needed. This includes recognizing that care is needed for serious symptoms of poor health conditions (e.g., shortness of breath, frequent or severe headaches, chest pain, lump in breast, fever, back or neck pain, loss of consciousness) as well as morbid symptoms of poor health conditions (e.g., sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, pain in knee or hip, fatigue or extreme tiredness, difficulty hearing, fall or other major injury). It also entails perceiving the need to see a health provider and being able to obtain health services when there is a perceived need, as well as regular checkups. Thus, a strong external capability of the utilization and access to health services will include no barriers (e.g., geographic, financial, linguistic) to access and utilization of high quality services.
Why is it important?
Utilization and access to high quality health services is important because it allows us to utilize the common goods of health resources, technology, and knowledge present in society-at-large to achieve better health. Where healthcare institutions such as hospitals and community health clinics exist, this capability of perceiving and receiving health services allows us to fully leverage the benefits of our collective health capabilities.
What does it look like?
In a society with a strong external capability of utilization and access to health services, people experiencing serious or morbid health symptoms will seek and be able to obtain health care. There will be services that address geographic, financial, linguistic, and discriminatory barriers to health care, such as community health locations, universal health insurance, and on-site translators.
How do WE do it?
We can strengthen our external capability of utilization and access to health services by proactively informing people about the kinds of serious and morbid health symptoms (i.e., what to look for, what they feel like), and the access or entry points into health services systems. In addition, societies must ensure that health services are high quality, anti-discriminatory, coordinated, and streamlined such that those seeking health services receive efficient and effective care. For example, ensuring someone who enters a community health clinic with a specialty care health need is efficiently and effectively transferred to the appropriate healthcare specialist rather than bluntly turning them away or letting them fall through the cracks for seeking services outside the clinic’s scope. It also includes working with health insurance providers, transportation providers, and translators to overcome barriers to healthcare services.
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