Why Is Math Important In Healthcare PDF

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Why Is Math Important In Healthcare...

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Why Is Math Important In Healthcare   Abstract

The importance of math skills and the different types and reasons that math would be used on a daily basis are what I’ll be covering within my paper. Math is essential for healthcare professionals in many ways from vital signs, to the growth or lack of growth of patients. Recording and maintaining medical record information such as the vital signs, medications, payments etc., is a huge part of math in healthcare. Without truly understanding basic math skills healthcare workers will not be able to accurately convert medications and cause errors. Knowing and understanding how to covert fractions, decimals, ratios, proportions etc. are all skills that also tie into the accounting and business aspect of healthcare which all require math skills, and help in maintaining accounts, appointments, filing, bills, payments, and receipts.   AH1200 Course Final

Math is a skill that will be used on a daily basis and is essential for healthcare professionals in many ways. Healthcare professionals need to use math to perform vital signs in order to calculate the patients pulse and respirations correctly. Knowing how to do basic math like addition and subtraction, and how to tell time are crucial skills in the medical field. Patients may also gain or lose weight, could still be growing, have unexplained drastic changes in their blood pressure (BP) readings, or (for women) their menstruation cycle may be interrupted or become irregular, and those changes need to be calculated and documented correctly. Healthcare professionals need to calculate the growth of pediatric patients using growth charts to be sure they are growing at the expected rate. In order to administer medication(s) to a patient the correct drug calculations must be made for each dosage by using math. Conversions are very important in healthcare. We will need to use math to convert milligrams, kilograms, pounds, grams, grains etc. Math is also vital in the billing process, when a healthcare professional is doing the billing they will have to use math to calculate the

payments correctly, here we may be required to use multiplication and division. Miscalculations could cause the healthcare office to take a loss in healthcare procedure payments and the patients to either over or underpay. Healthcare professionals will also be inputting, adding, and updating information in patient medical charts. Ratios and proportions help healthcare professionals administer the correct amount of medication(s) to patient. Calculating the height, weight, and BMI of the patient 's will require the use of math. Ordering supplies requires the use of math. In order for the healthcare office to function daily healthcare professionals need to keep correct records and inventory daily. It is also important to know how to correctly interpret and convert fractions, percentages, ratios, decimals etc. The key reason is to avoid prescription errors. Using a "trailing zero" after a decimal point when writing a dosage can lead to medication errors. For example, writing a medication dosage as 1.0 mg may be misinterpreted as 10 mg, if the decimal point is not seen. However, a zero should always precede a decimal point. For example, a medication written as .1 mg could be misinterpreted as 1 mg if the decimal point is missed, leading to a

patient receiving 10 times the amount of medicine needed. In this case, the zero should precede the decimal point, as in 0.1 mg. The rule of thumb is that a zero should precede a decimal point but not follow one when writing prescriptions. A way to remember this rule is "Always lead, never follow." The rule of fractions is, part of a whole number and can be converted into decimals and they mean the same thing. For example: .25 is ¼. The numbers before the decimal point are the units, and the number after the decimal point are the tenths. So if you have the number 45.6 the 5 is in the units place and the 6 is in the tenths place. The decimal point goes between units and tenths, like this: 45.6 has 4 tens, 5 units and 6 tenths. Ratios are a comparison of two similar quantities obtained by dividing one quantity by the other. Ratios are written with the (:) symbol. Financial ratios convert company financial information into a standardized format, which allows health care companies to compare themselves to competitors and identify its personal strengths and weaknesses, such as: Cash Flow Indicators - the cash flow return on investment ratio tells a company how much cash is being generated in

relation to its investments. Asset Management Ratios - help managers understand how paying so much for they’re expensive assets, will pay off. The asset turnover ratio specifically measures how efficiently assets are converted into revenue. Profitability ratios give managers a general idea of the financial health of the company. Debt ratios measure the company 's ability to pay back long-term debt based on assets. Proportions are two ratios that are equal. For a proportion to be a true proportion the product of the means must equal the product of the extremes. If one factor in a true proportion is unknown, the missing factor can be found because the product of the means must equal the product of the extremes. The extremes are the first and last numbers of the proportion. The means are the two middle numbers. This is essential when preparing and administering correct medication(s) dosages, determining how many assistants will be required to care for the residents, dietary services workers in the preparation of recipes, environmental services workers in preparation of cleaning chemicals and floor wax, healthcare workers use financial ratios to convert company financial information, healthcare equipment and supply

needs, medical testing interpretation, data interpretation, calibrations, and statistics. Math is also extremely important within the Accounting and Business aspect of healthcare. Such skills are essential to healthcare professionals in many ways like: numerical filing, which a system or orderly arrangement of papers, cards, or other materials so they are readily available for future reference. Numerical filing systems require a cross-index or cross-reference list so the number assigned to a patient can be identified. Many healthcare offices create a patient database on a computer. When a patient arrives at the office, the patients name is entered into the computer, and the computer then lists the coordinating number for that patient. Most offices also create a backup cross-reference system in case their computers crash. Patient’s names and number are written on file cards, and filed in numerical order for easy access. Appointment scheduling efficiently is important in any health care facility. If done correctly, it eliminates long waiting times for patients and unscheduled time for health care personnel. In most health care agencies, appointments are kept on record by computer. The

computer automatically locates the next available time and date, provides a record of appointments already scheduled, can be programmed to schedule a set block of time for a particular procedure, and prints out copies of the daily schedule. It is important to understand the basic principles of scheduling. Computerized scheduling can be very efficient and convenient, but an alternate system must exist in case the computer system crashes or is not functioning correctly. Appointment books are used for manual scheduling. It is vital to know what block of time each line represents. Cash transactions occur in most health care agencies. Proper handling of these transactions is essential. Most agencies maintain a cash drawer that contains currency and coins. When a patient or client pays a bill in cash, the correct amount of change must be given to the patient from the cash drawer. At the end of the day, the amounts must balance. With cash transactions healthcare professionals must use addition, subtraction, multiplication, division etc. The easiest way to calculate a patients total or change due is to subtract the amount of the bill from the cash amount given by the patient. Most offices use a daily cash drawer balance sheet.

Maintaining accounts accurately is an essential part of any health care field. An account can be defined as a financial record of charges, payments made, and amounts due. A charge is a fee charged for a service. A payment is an amount of money paid by patient or client. A current balance is the amount still owed by the patient or client and is often classified as accounts receivable. Most healthcare agencies use a computerized bookkeeping system, with backup systems in place to safeguard and to protect patient information. Even though computerized systems can calculate financial transactions, the healthcare worker must still understand the basic principle of billing, which requires math skills. Checks, deposit slips, and receipts must be completed correctly because they provide a record of financial transactions. A check is a written order for payment of money through a bank. A deposit Slip is a record of money that is deposited in a bank or financial institution. A receipt is a record of money or goods received. If a person makes a payment, a receipt can be given to the person as proof of payment. Paycheck calculations are vital in knowing if you are receiving the correct amount of pay for the work you are doing. No one wants to

works for free and every individual should be able to calculate a paycheck. Two main terms are used regarding payroll: gross pay and net pay. Gross pay represents the total amount earned for hours worked. Net Pay often called "take home pay", is the amount of money left after all deductions have been subtracted from the gross pay. To determine gross pay, multiply the wage per hour times the number of hours worked. Overtime pay is usually calculated at time and a half or double time. If overtime is one and a half, multiply the overtime hours by 1.5 and then multiply by wage per hour. For double time, multiply the overtime hours by two and then multiply by the range. To determine net pay, individual deductions must be calculated first. Most healthcare agencies use a special software programs that automatically calculate the correct federal tax deduction depending on the gross income, marital status, and number of dependents.

References

Delmer Cengage Learning. (2013). Practical Problems in Mathematics Health Science Careers 3rd edition. Math Central. (2005, ). Retrieved from Math Central website: http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/medicine/med1.html EHow. (2015, ). website: http://www.ehow.com/about_5184411_types-used-health-care-field.ht ml Google. (2015, ). website: https://www.google.com/mathinhealthcare

I also referenced my prior discussion questions and assignment submissions from throughout this course....