United States Department of Health and Human Services (Essay Sample)

Name Professor Course Date United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is an arm of the American federal government that protects the health of all Americans and provides all crucial health services. The agency's mission is to enhance the well-being of the American citizens by promoting effective services, and by developing sustainable policies in the medical sciences. The scope of HHS lies within the American borders and their activities cover Americans' every stage of life from conception. The function of the individuals in HHS is to protect the health of the citizens and providing vital services, especially to those citizens who are too poor to afford them. Furthermore, HHS collaborates with other agencies to develop global connections and provide expertise in universal matters regarding health diplomacy and policy. HHS addresses numerous issues concerning health care, and concentrate their efforts on oral health initiative. HHS addresses issues regarding insurance coverage for Americans, patient safety, and community prevention measures. One of the strategic objectives of the HHS is to secure the insurance coverage of those already insured and to extend insurance that is affordable to the uninsured. The agency achieves this by implementing provisions that ensure insurance exchanges and Medicaid covers are extended to low-income citizens. Secondly, HHS plans on reducing the rate of infections acquired during hospital stays by at least 10 percent. The officials are urging medical professionals to gather data concerning these cases and work to avoid the elements that contributed to the infection then. Moreover, HHS works towards emphasizing preventive care, for instance, they offer dietary recommendations to Americans (McGuire 293). The agency also makes investments in community-based prevention and creating links between primary and health care for Americans. Their actions are aimed at supporting healthy living and disease and infection management. HHS plays a primary role in the development and delivery of health care policies in America. The agency has the authority to create regulations that ultimately help the administration to carry out public policies. Therefore, this federal agency is critical in the development of the regulatory agenda that is involved in developing health policy in the country. For example, the HHS has a privacy rule that protects the health information of each and grants a patient numerous rights including the right to receive competent medical care. Additionally, HHS is involved in policies regarding the use of human beings in medical research. Any institution that endeavors to carry out research involving human subjects needs to have the assurance of compliance with the rules set by HHS. Lastly, the agency is engaged in the development of infrastructure regarding country-wide health Information Technology (IT). An analyst seeking to file a complaint or address a particular policy problem related to health care can do so through the HHS. One current initiative that the HHS considers a priority is the oral health strategic framework. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services Oral Health Coordinating Committee (243), the agency is intent on speeding up the invention of intervention measures that can help improve the “prevention, diagnosis, and treatment” of oral diseases. The individuals involved in this initiative acknowledge the importance of incorporating oral health care into primary health. As a result, they challenge the physicians and nurses who interact with the patients to integrate oral services into their daily practice. The second goal involves introducing strategies, for instance, dental sealants, that reduce the prevalence or severity of tooth decay (US Department of Health and Human Services Oral Health Coordinating Committee 247). Lastly, the officials aim at increasing the citizens’ access to oral health care by eliminating disparities. To achieve this, HHS will expand the number of medical institutions that provide oral care and also promote models that integrate other physicians. A health policy analyst should consider issues arising from policies made using both legal and political analysis because policy analysis is a significant part of the political sciences (de Leeuw, Clavier, and Breton 56). But, for them to consider policy in this light, the analyst needs to have an understanding of the procedures and regulations involved. Gaining insight into these elements will enable the analyst to recognize reasons as to w...