For-profit and Not-for-profit Hospitals
The differences between for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals may not be evident, but the certainty is that the institutions are different. The major difference between a for-profit and a not-for-profit hospital is that a for-profit engages in a money generating ventures and is therefore eligible for property and income tax. Not-for-profit hospitals, on the other hand, do not pay tax because the services provided do not generate income for the facility. For-profit hospitals are always expected to be answerable to shareholders, unlike the not-for-profit hospitals that only work for the interest of the community.
The nursing profession is based on providing care to patients at a personal level. Nurses, however, have a significant role to play in the provision of cost-conscious care. The nurses make the largest population in the healthcare facility and are in direct contact with the activities that can be included in cost-cutting attempts without affecting the quality of healthcare services. Activities such as electronic record-keeping can be done at lower costs if the nurses are involved in the exercise.
The roles of leader nurses may differ significantly between for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. The interests carried by the two institutions vary considerably, and the roles of leader nurses cannot be expected to be similar. The for-profit nurse is expected to put the interests of the shareholders above the community. On the hand, the lead nurse in the not-for-profit hospital is expected to give priority to the interests of the community.
The Affordable Care Act is on the initial stages of application and is expected to have several impacts on the healthcare service. However, some implications are certain such as the influx of patients (Song, Lee, Toth, Singh & Young, 2018). Also, payers are expected to cover more conditions than before. Generally, the care and payment models will change in the long term.
In sum, the major difference between a for-profit and a not-for-profit hospital is that a for-profit hospital engages in money-generating ventures and is therefore eligible for property and income tax. Nurses, however, have a significant role to play in the provision of cost-conscious care. Moreover, the Affordable Care Act is on the initial stages of application and is expected to have several impacts on the healthcare service.
References
Blumenthal, D., Abrams, M., & Nuzum, R. (2015). The affordable care act at 5 years.
Song, P. H., Lee, S. Y. D., Toth, M., Singh, S. R., & Young, G. J. (2018). Gender differences in hospital CEO compensation: A national investigation of not-for-profit hospitals. Medical Care Research and Review, 1077558718754573.