Concepts of Equity - Efficiency and Effectiveness

Question: Discuss about the Concepts of Equity, Efficiency and Effectiveness. Answer: Introduction: The aim of the paper is to discuss on the concepts of equity, efficiency and effectiveness in relation to the healthcare system in Singapore. Singapore healthcare system is founded on equity. A detailed analysis of the three concepts will be carried on. Based on the findings, an interrelationship among the three concepts will be found out. Equity in health is an ethical value that is grounded on the ethical principle of distributive justice where human rights principle acts as a consonant (Drummond et al., 2015). It has to be noted that equity is a concept and it cannot be measured. Equity actually relates to the fact whether the benefits and the burdens of the medical care has been distributed fairly and equally among the people of a nation (Odeyemi Nixon, 2013). Efficiency in healthcare is an expression that states the relationship between the resources used, processes and the final outcome of the same resources. A detailed analysis on how the resources are used and how they are processed consist of complete account of efficiency in healthcare. On the other hand, effectiveness is concerned with the extent to which the outcome or the goals are achieved. It is the measurement of capability of producing a desired outcome (Levesque, Harris Russell, 2013). In the healthcare environment is concerned, it can be said that effectiveness shows the relationship between the provision of healthcare and the improvement in the health status of an individual. Analysis and discussion on the concept of equity in relation to Singapores healthcare system founded on equity Equity relates to the fact that the benefits and the burdens of the medical care have been distributed fairly among citizens of the country. The concept related to equity is that there are unlimited health care needs and wants but the resources are limited (Levesque, Harris Russell, 2013). It is necessary that the resources shall be distributed fairly. In this respect, Macinko and Lima-Costa, (2012) argued that since the concept of equity is not subjective, everyone does not agree on the matter of equity because it becomes debatable to agree on what is equitable and what is not. If the concept of equity is considered in respect t to healthcare of Singapore, it can be narrated as under: Equality on per capita expenditure: Equity should focus on the distribution of the healthcare budget to different regions depending on the size of the population in those regions (Shah et al., 2013). This distribution should not be based on the variation in the needs of the population that the demand is different in different regions. Equity on the basis of equal health care needs: Equity also proposes that the needs of individuals at a particular region should be recognized. Depending on the situation, it falls under the healthcare of the nation to input the cost of the needs of cost in different regions (Mills et al., 2012). Equal access of resources: Equity in the healthcare also proposes that the resources available should be recognized well and should be distributed among the people on the basis on health care needs and clinical situation (Mtei et al., 2012). This equity should also focus on the existence of any kind of geographical barriers that include travelling distances, transport cost and any other kinds of indirect costs like family care. Equal treatment for equal need: Singapore healthcare equity also proposes the fact that people should be treated equally for the same level of needs. As proposed by Asante et al. (2016), that health equity falls under two major categories; the horizontal equity and the equal treatment equity. This principle is based on the fact that there should be unequal treatment of people based on unequal needs. However, healthcare of Singapore does not support the horizontal equity but it is based on the fact that health treatment should be equal to all. An equity approach towards the access of healthcare should be crucial enough to achieve major developmental goals in the health as well as sector. Analysis and discussion on the concept of efficiency in relation to Singapores healthcare system founded on equity Efficiency related to health care provides a detail of the resources that has been allocated to the healthcare sector of Singapore and has increased over the past decades. As pointed out by Schfer et al. (2013), that in the contemporary situation, focus has been made towards shifting cost containment and getting the best value for money. There are a number of factors that influence the cost of the health care. These factors include the developing technology along with the aging and increasing population in the major developed countries (Browne et al., 2012). Increased population has compelled towards increasing productivity and this has been made possible by major improvement in the field of technology. Several different aspects of efficiency in the health care can be formulated here: Product efficiency: When the required amount of output is produced with the input of minimum possible quantity of resources, it can be termed as product efficiency. Thus, the aim is to produce maximum outputs from a given quantity of resources (Gulliford Morgan, 2013). Technical efficiency: The effectiveness with which a given set of inputs are used to produced desirable outputs by using the most suitable form of technology is termed as technical efficiency. The health care organisations are expected to use the minimum input to produce the maximum output by utilising the technological efficiencies available to them. However, reading Enthoven, (2014) it has been observed that the technological efficiency depends on individuals responsible for different activities. For instance, the technological efficiency will vary from a nurse to that of a doctor. Allocative efficiency: The efficiency that reflects the way the resources are allocated that reflects the best possible way of allocating the resources to a community. As commented by Drummond et al. (2015) that in a healthcare the greatest efficiency of the resources can be achieved only if the resources are given to the best suitable persons who are responsible for allocating the resources to the one who shall benefits the most. Drummond et al. (2015) further commented that healthcare community in Singapore ensures the best usage of the resources that is allocated to them. Social efficiency: The distribution efficiency suggests two modes of targets; the horizontal target efficiency and the vertical target efficiency. The two types of social efficiencies have been designed that the resources can be easily reached to the one who are needy (Birken et al., 2013). This depends on the level of income of an individual. Redistribution of the resources can be considered in this respect. Analysis and discussion on the concept of effectiveness in relation to Singapores healthcare system founded on equity Effectiveness in the healthcare sector is mainly concerned to the extent to which the outcome or the goals is achieved. It is the capability of a health care department to produce desired outcomes. As pointed out by Free et al. (2013) that when something is considered effective it becomes probable that the intended result has been achieved. In case of the healthcare department, it can be said that effectiveness is considered according to the relationship between the provision of healthcare and the need of improvement in the health status of the people of the nation. If the healthcare system is taken into consideration, it creates an analogous situation and a large scale financial flow in the complete system. Treating everyone equal on the ground of medical emergency even if there remains an inequality in the financial capability of individuals is termed under effectiveness of the healthcare (Faden, Beauchamp Kass, 2014). There has been a large scale transition in the financial flow in the healthcare sector of Singapore. The main change has been observed in between the insurer and the physician. Changes with respect to hospital mergers created a level of interference between the insurer and the physician. Many improvements have been noticed in this respect. For instance, there are increased numbers of people who are self-insured or the degree of involvement of the government has also increased. As pointed out by Chen et al. (2014), physicians have to face with restrictions related to expensive procedure of treatment. This has created a kind of i nstability in the overall healthcare procedure. If the healthcare effectiveness of Singapore is considered, de Rooij et al. (2014) stated that the country has a limited manpower, land and financial resources as well. Therefore, it has become quite urgency for the country to think of better ways to minimize the impact of rapid increase in the cost of healthcare. It has been proposed from the health department of the nation that in order to build the infrastructure of the healthcare of the country, cost-effectiveness falls into the prime importance of the healthcare sector (Page et al., 2015). For instances it has been found even an acute illness or disease shall be treated with great efficiency to ensure that proper medical facility has been provided to the needy. With the increase in the number of healthcare projects in Singapore, there has been considerable improvement in the productivity as well. Therefore, it is easily predictable that the effectiveness of the particular sector is high and has been considerably increasing. Interrelationships among the three concepts If the interrelationship among equity, efficiency and effectiveness in the healthcare of Singapore is taken into account, it can be said that equity focuses on providing equal service and healthcare to the people belonging to the same nation. People are not differentiated on the basis of the economic condition or any other factor (Cleemput et al., 2016). Unnecessary inequalities that create an avoidable, unfair and unjust situation are avoided when an equity approach is made towards treating the people of a nation. It has been a long going debate among many developed nations to raise awareness that an equal approach is produced among the people (Faden, Beauchamp Kass, 2014). In case of healthcare, this situation has to be made to work out that will help people to survive even in drastic situations. As proposed by Levesque, Harris and Russell, (2013), that equity defines social justice that has to be given to all irrespective of any kind of inequality in terms of economic disparity or any other situation. Any person irrespective of their race, gender, ethnic or religious group should be treated equal to create equity in the system. In case of healthcare system of Singapore, it has been thoroughly observed that there remained equity in the system (Birken et al., 2013). People are never denied of the basic rights and treatment that they should deserve. However, it has also been observed that with the improved economic condition of the nation, it has become evident that many people are focusing on health insurance. This has opened up the facility to the people to create safety measures regarding their own health (Faden, Beauchamp Kass, 2014). This provision automatically increases the effectiveness of the availability of healthcare for a particular individual. A healthcare system can be considered as the most efficient only when the particular system is capable enough to utilise the resources to the extent where it will give the maximum return of the investment and the people will be most benefitted. Cleemput et al. (2016) debated on the equity and efficiency trade off. Cleemput et al. (2016) said that it might happen that a particular sector might not be able to utilise the resources that has been allocated to them. Thus, a gap in the efficiency is created in this way and the people might not be able to get the desired outcome as it was supposed to be. As stated by Asante et al. (2016), that the ability of utilising the resources in a healthcare depends on how well the particular system is able to treat the severe diseases like HIV, Breast Cancer or any kind of immunisation coverage. Various tools that are used for created better efficiency in a sector should be utilised well enough that the resources that are allocated for the sake of cr eating equality in the whole system is fulfilled (Faden, Beauchamp Kass, 2014). There is no doubt that the healthcare system of Singapore is supplied with all kinds of technical and other amenities that are necessary for the sake of taking care of the patients and the people of the country. However, it largely depends on the ability of the particular sector to utilise the resources properly that would help the needy in their needs (Levesque, Harris Russell, 2013). Sometimes, it becomes a challenge for the healthcare sector to utilise the same resources to the greatest extent to make it viable to the people of the country. However, to create a potential outcome there is a number of factors that are equally important in the healthcare system (Faden, Beauchamp Kass, 2014). Human valuation is the most important thing that is taken into consideration and that the resources should be made into utilisation only for the sake of their care and health improvement. Factors like economy of the nation or the politics might come into play but overcoming these hurdles to pro vide the basic amenities to the people in need (Gulliford Morgan, 2013). It is quite evident in the healthcare system of Singapore and this has to be the basic policy of the nation as well. Conclusion: The paper has outlined the concept of equity, efficiency and effectiveness in relation to the healthcare system of Singapore. After analysing the concepts of the three, an interrelation among the three concepts have been recognised. With the detailed discussion, it can be said that equity, efficiency and effectiveness are clearly linked to each other. Resources are an important part of the three concepts that have been taken into consideration. There is no doubt that Singapore is quite sufficient in terms of availability of resources. It has to be said that there are a number of healthcare models that are followed by the various healthcare systems belonging to different countries but the three concepts that are taken into consideration are positively linked models that outlines the healthcare system of Singapore. It has been observed that the healthcare model of Singapore is based on equity. 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