This is what I need by tonight ………respond to two or more fellow classmates (two posts) by Tuesday that are thoughtful and advance the discussion.Student responses postings must be 100–150 words (not including references). APA format.

These responses are from this discussion question:

Respond to one of the two topics below.

Topic 1:

How is strategic management different from health policy?

Topic  2:

Explain and illustrate the possible benefits of strategic management. What types of health care institutions may benefit most from strategic management?

First response:

Can the law improve diabetes prevention and control?

Good post on health policy.  Here is a related article.  Thoughts?
 

Can the law improve diabetes prevention and control?

New study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine evaluates existing diabetes guidelines and potentially supportive laws

By Eileen Leahy | Posted on 11 September 2013

New cases of diabetes continue to increase as does the health burden for those with diabetes. Law is a critical tool for health improvement, yet assessments reported in a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine indicate that federal, state, and local laws give only partial support to guidelines and evidence-based interventions relevant to diabetes prevention and control. The authors explore the role that law can play in serving as an effective health tool.

In 2010, diabetes was the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly 26 million people in America have the disease and about a quarter of them don’t even know it. If current trends continue, 30 percent of the US population may experience diabetes by 2050. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include limited access to nutritious food, limited opportunity for physical activity, socioeconomic conditions, and genetic disposition. While many well-founded guidelines and recommendations for diabetes intervention exist, the incidence and prevalence of diabetes continues to escalate. This is attributable, in part, to low adoption of evidence-based interventions for diabetes prevention and control.“Laws, including statutes, ordinances, and government agency rules and regulations can support interventions to prevent and control disease in various ways,” said lead author Dr. Anthony D. Moulton of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Laboratory Science, Policy and Practice Program Office, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services in Atlanta. ”Laws can help shape environments to reduce exposure to some type 2 diabetes risk factors and encourage preventive behaviors, and laws can authorize or require provision of prevention-oriented information designed to change the behaviors and cultural norms that affect risk.”

Dr. Moulton and his team evaluated existing guidelines, recommendations, and standards from 12 public health and medical organizations. They uncovered 47 guidelines in total: 20 for diabetes control and 27 for type 2 diabetes risk reduction and prevention. The team then determined the extent to which federal and state laws supported these guidelines. Investigators analyzed the laws further to determine whether they contained provisions that require, incentivize, or encourage healthcare providers, insurers, employers, schools, child care centers, restaurants, government agencies, and others, to take action consistent with a given guideline.Investigators concluded that:

• Implementation of guidelines for evidence-based interventions for diabetes prevention and control is incomplete
• Many opportunities exist for exploring uses of law to improve adoption

The team suggested six specific actions and considerations to improve the use of law as a way to prevent and control diabetes:

1. Adopted laws should meet certain criteria, including demonstrated effectiveness, feasibility of practical implementation, and respect for individual liberties.
2. Existing laws, including laws related to land use and building design, transportation systems, education, food production, and advertising, should be evaluated for their impact on diabetes risk reduction, prevention, and control.
3. Laws that have been proposed but not yet adopted also can be assessed for their potential to improve diabetes prevention and control.
4. Laws can be explored that address risk factors common to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, and that address the interaction between diabetes and certain infectious diseases.
5. Organizations that establish guidelines for diabetes prevention and control should explore developing guidelines specifically for relevant law-based interventions.
6. As the Affordable Care Act expands insurance for people with diabetes or at risk of diabetes, the impact of such guidelines should be assessed and used to shape supportive policies, as appropriate.

“Laws that are demonstrated to be effective, designed to support proven public health and clinical interventions, and well implemented can give crucial support to strategies that address public health priorities and to wider adoption of evidence-based guidelines,” Dr. Moulton concluded. “Law is a key tool for scaling and sustaining effective interventions at the national level. Public health practitioners and policymakers nationally can intensify their exploration and evidence-based application of law to help slow and potentially reverse the accelerating threat posed by the diabetes epidemic.”

Read the article

“Law, Public Health, and the Diabetes Epidemic,” by Anthony D. Moulton, PhD; Ann L. Albright, PhD, RD; Edward W. Gregg, PhD; and Richard A. Goodman, MD, JD, MPH, is available on the AJPM website and in print in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 45, Issue 4 (October 2013), DOI 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.05.07.

Retrieved from: http://www.elsevier.com/connect/can-the-law-improve-diabetes-prevention-and-control

Second response:

The definition of strategic human resource management is that it creates a clear connection between the goals of the organization and the activities of the people who work there. All employees should see the link between their daily task and achievement of a purpose or goal (Decenzo, Robbins, &Verhulst, 2013, pg. 32). Employee management is your first concern if you are a manager of an organization. If you have effective management and leadership of employees, it allows you to accomplish the goals you set at work. Successful employee management and leadership promotes employee engagement, employee motivation, and employee retention. This is all important if you want to build and maintain a productive workforce.

Health policy refers to decisions, plans and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific health care goals within a society. An explicit health policy can achieve several things, it defines a vision for the future which in turn helps to establish targets and points of reference for the short and medium term (http://www.who.int/topics/health_policy/en/).

Reference:

DeCenzo, D., Robbins, S., &Verhulst, S. (2013). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. (11th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Health Policy. Retrieved on December 14, 2014 from www.who.int/topics/health_policy/en/