Legal Foundations of Health Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Legal Foundations of Health Care - Essay Example One of the department’s roles, through â€Å"Administration on Aging,† is provision of social services to the elderly population. It ensures the citizens’ interests in â€Å"income, housing, health, employment, retirement, and community services† by developing and implementing relevant programs (p. 25). The department’s role also includes administration of Medicare and Medicaid programs that offer health care services to the elderly, people with special disabilities, and needy populations. The Department of Health and Human Services, through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, also ensures affordable cost of care through initiating research on factors affecting cost of care and making appropriate decisions for regulating costs. The agency also regulates clinical activities with the aim of influencing cost and quality of offered services in care facilities. Similarly, the department plays a significant role initiating and promoting resear ch initiatives towards affordable care and development of information for evidence based practice and clinical decisions (Pozgar, 2012, p. 25-27). Other roles of the department are illustrated through its associated agencies such as â€Å"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,† â€Å"Food and Drug Administration,† and â€Å"National Institute of Health† (Pozgar, 2012, p. 27-28). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies the department’s role to reduce and possibly mitigate diseases. The department also ensures, through the Food and Drug Administration, that developed medicines, food products, other health consumables, and medical equipments are safe for human use (Pozgar, 2012, p. 28). It further formulates and facilitates implementation of measures for preventing and managing drug abuse. Its partnership with other stakeholders also plays a role in identifying dangerous drugs and it offers directives against consumption of such drugs besides offering