Essay on Michigan Mental Health Care: Inpatient Facility and Resource Challenge

Introduction

Delivery of proper mental health services is a complex process which requires the continued organization of the health care delivery system usually through evidence-based research, and among other service developments (Health Foundation, 2019). In particular, the Michigan Mental health care delivery institution is challenged with the problem of insufficient inpatient facilities and resources. The challenge dates back to the year 2010, where there have been changes in the Medicaid funding due to the process of rebasing enacted in the same year. According to Sheehan, the Chief Execution Officer of Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards is of the idea of the change in the funding policy of the State's mental healthcare facility to improve the prevailing treatment conditions. The enacted rebasing aimed to facilitate the distribution of resources, in particular, the Medicaid for mental health treatment across the entire Michigan state (Recovery, 2019). The problem at hand is the creation of uncertainty in the offering of inpatient mental healthcare facilities, where there is no sufficient critical care offered to the patients.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Comparative Analysis

The delivery of mental healthcare services has improved drastically across the globe leading to the provision of adequate care for the patients. Different nations have devised formulas which shift to the community-based care from conventional inpatient care. Therefore, the State of Michigan and the United States in general, need to conduct a standard comparison with the established healthcare system across the globe, which are offering exceptional services to their citizens (Sadeniemi & Almeda, 2018). The comparative analysis is done to compare resource allocation, structure, and the efficiency of the entire mental healthcare system offered in their respective jurisdictions. The benchmarked jurisdictions are southern Europe and the whole of Nordic welfare states, that is, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Greenland. These states lead to the formation of states focused on the comprehensive welfare of their population, in addition to the establishment of collective bargaining powers at the federal level (Lake, 2019). The identification of mental healthcare systems was made possible through the tool for evaluation and description of directories and services for long term mental health care. Therefore, the determination of standard care is significant, such that various mental health systems support effective policymaking and other various change, intending to ensure equal availability of mental healthcare across Europe, and the entire world. The comparative analysis is interested in the investigation of the severity of deinstitutionalization, efficiency of the practiced policy, and the invested resources in the healthcare system (Sadeniemi & Almeda, 2018).

Findings

According to the mental health care model in Europe, the structure is to ensure the provision of regular and sufficient health care to the affected individuals. Various countries have then come up with various models which ensure efficient provision of mental health care service. That is through ensuring resources are used optimally, both human and financial. Studies towards the improvement of mental health care of importance in Europe since it adds considerably to the burden experienced by the respective nations. However, the systems which ensure treatment of mental health patients vary between countries. The diversity in the mental healthcare systems provides a solid foundation in the comparative analysis, based on the identification and evaluation of transferability and effectiveness, and clinical practice of the proposed mental health interventions (Sadeniemi & Almeda, 2018).

The strategies and tactics developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the European region are to provide access to efficient health care system for the patients suffering from mental health. That led to the formulation of the Mental Health Action Plan for Europe (Sadeniemi & Almeda, 2018). To achieve that, the policy seeks to reform the entire system of health delivery, changing focus from inpatient to community-based outpatient facilities. These community-based institutions are adequately funded to ensure the availability of facilities, for instance, the psychiatric beds for every patient under treatment. Moreover, well-established countries in Europe, for instance, Sweden offers well balanced mental health services which include; mobile services, psychiatric beds, outpatient care, and among other community-based housing services for the recovering patients. The mental health policy devised in those respective countries under the WHO requires exceptional services to be delivered from the local healthcare institutions to the first level in the respective nations. These respective health care levels include; primary, general, and specialized mental health care institutions.

Some of the countries showing striking differences in their mental healthcare system in Europe is Finland and Spain. However, there are striking comparisons; for instance, both mental systems have mental care being delivered by professionals in a group rather than single practitioners (Sadeniemi & Almeda, 2018). Also, there is the system of tax-refund which aids in funding recovering patients. The European countries are seen to have a common way of funding their mental healthcare systems; however, there are notable differences between either system. That is seen in the level of deinstitutionalization achieved by the nations, and the general organization of the healthcare services. From the investigations, it is determined that Finland formulated the national mental health policy in 2010 which was aimed in the development of more community based mental health systems, strengthening the delivery of care at the primary levels, closing separate institutions of healthcare delivery, and downsizing of unnecessary expenditure. Whereas, in Spain, the mental health system is effectively funded and is primarily in operation in the public domain. Citizens can enjoy free access to the health care facility, which is operated regionally due to devolution since 2002. The system in Spain is found to be effective due to improved coordination between the specific levels and the primary level.

Conclusion and Recommendation

With that effect, the House task force in Michigan need to come up with stringent measure which will ensure the proper delivery of mental health service which includes:

• Timely intervention which includes providing children suffering from mental health the priority for treatment.
• It is changing the focus from hospital to outpatient treatment which is community-based, as that will ease the pressure on the inpatient facilities.
• Motions to be passed aimed at increasing funding of the entire Michigan health care system. That will provide for inpatient facilities, for instance, the psychiatric beds.
• Addressing the shortage of inpatient health professionals to be sufficient enough to cater for increased inpatients (Lawler, 2018).
• Screening of mental health be done in various social institutions, for instance, schools and jails to address mental concerns urgently (Lawler, 2018).

Policy change in the Michigan State about the delivery of mental health care is essential to achieve improved delivery of inpatient care. That is realized when the inpatient facilities are affordable, accessible, and useful. The policies recommended in the Michigan State prove effective since they are informed by evidenced policies and plans, for instance, in Finland and Spain. Moreover, it is interesting to analyze the provision of mental health care in the Nordic welfare states when compared to the rest of Europe and America.

References

Health Foundation. (2019). Five different ways to improve mental health services | The Health Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.health.org.uk/newsletter-feature/five-different-ways-to-improve-mental-health-services

Lake, J. (2019). Urgent Need for Improved Mental Health Care and a More Collaborative Model of Care. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5593510/

Lawler, E. (2018). 13 ways House lawmakers aim to improve mental health services in Michigan. Retrieved from https://www.mlive.com/news/2018/01/15_ways_house_lawmakers_aim_to.html

Recovery, S. (2019). What Michigan's Latest Medicaid Cuts Mean for Mental Health Treatment | Skywood Recovery. Retrieved from https://skywoodrecovery.com/what-michigans-latest-medicaid-cuts-mean-for-mental-health-treatment/

Sadeniemi, M., & Almeda, N. (2018). A Comparison of Mental Health Care Systems in Northern and Southern Europe: A Service Mapping Study. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024953/