The existence of so many levels and types of care providers poses great challenges to the healthcare system and the delivery of quality healthcare services. One of the challenges that the existence of numerous levels and types of care providers brings is confusion among patients. Given that healthcare services are at times inaccessible due to social and economic factors, illiterate people get confused as they try to seek medical attention from the healthcare centers. Moreover, the poor tend to seek medical services in the wrong places because they can afford services from a certain level or type of care. Swartz (2009) argues that the healthcare system faces the challenge of increasing health insurance coverage, improving language, and addressing cultural issues. Hence, the health care system is facing challenges of improving accessibility of healthcare services to the poor and marginalized populations owing to the existence of different levels and types of care providers.
The accuracy of keeping records of patients is another challenge that the existence of different levels and types of care providers poses to the healthcare system. If a patient seeks medical attention from different healthcare providers in varied levels of care, it means that the healthcare providers would be unable to keep accurate records showing a medical history of a patient. In this view, the healthcare system experiences the challenge of creating accurate medical records by harmonizing the staggering medical records. Moreover, since the healthcare system is struggling to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of its services, the existence of different levels and types of care providers complicates the delivery of healthcare services. Montenegro et al. (2011) state that fragmentation of the healthcare system leads to inaccessibility of services, wastage of resources due to inefficiencies and duplication of duties, and poor healthcare services. Fragmentation is evident in the manner in which different levels and types of care providers coordinate in a healthcare system.
