Health Care Management Rules - Essay Example

Leadership in health care Insert Name of the Student Insert Name of the Instructor Insert Name of the Course Insert Code of the Course Insert Submission Date Introduction Leadership in health care can be a fulfilling yet demanding job. Health care is a fundamental necessity for everyone and an individual seeks the health care services throughout a lifetime. The patients expect excellent health care services at any time no matter the level of their illness. Right from the receptionist to the nurses and doctors, every individual’s role is paramount to the health of an individual. Bad reception can make a patient believe that the medical care is sub-standard too and the outcome of treatment may not be as desirable. Thus, it is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that the overall health care team is cohesive and professional (Reed, 2009). Management on the other hand, ensures that the social and technical aspects of health care are efficiently executed as per the objectives of the health care facility (Longest, Rakich & Darr, 2000). Managers can be at the senior level, middle level or lower level with delegation of duties flowing from the top downwards. The scope of this paper will however look at managers and leaders in general. It will compare and contrast the characteristics of a leader and manager, how to be a leader and manager, missions and duties of a leader and manager, permissions of a leader and manager, responsibilities of a leader and manager, and who is a good leader and manager. This will be explained in the health care context. Characteristics of the leader/manager in health care An effective health care manager should possess conceptual abilities. These are the abilities to think analytically and plan in a holistic manner. It helps one to make the best of every situation (Muller, Jooste, & Lezuidenhout, 2006). In an emergency department where it is, a high velocity and critical care environment the conceptual ability helps keep the situation calm and manageable (Lin et al., 2011). He also needs to possess technical abilities. These abilities enable one to combine the clinical sciences and management sciences. They also help in the management of other related areas such as technology and finances that enhance delivery of quality service in the facility. An efficient manager should also possess good business ethics (Muller, Jooste, & Lezuidenhout, 2006). This helps keep the integrity of the manager and medical practitioners at par with societal expectations. He should be free of greed, be trustworthy, and socially responsible to uphold the integrity of the medical profession. In addition, the leader needs to possess interpersonal skills. These skills help the manager in interacting efficiently with the subordinates, fellow managers, leaders, patients, and other outside stakeholders such as the government (Ross, Wenzel, & Mitlying, 2002). A leader has the ability to identify personal and team efforts, beliefs, and values and mobilize them for the overall vision of the group. Leadership therefore requires one to constantly self evaluate to identify personal traits that can help the team. The leader also constantly appraises the team in efforts geared towards accomplishing group goals. A leader is trustworthy. He can easily gain the trust of managers and the lower ranked individuals because he keeps his word. They are also role models. They take on new tasks and responsibilities and constantly give their support to individuals in need. They will help with patients when need be, and provide administrative support to managers. They train their team members to work independently without supervision through their actions (Oliver, 2006). Guerrero (2013) asserts that there is an increasing level of discordance between ethnic and racial diversity of clients and health care staff. An efficient leader has the ability to manage such diversity. He provides equal opportunities across the field thus ensuring that all members feel comfortable working in a team and patients do not feel marginalized. A health care leader is also an independent thinker. This ability is important to deal with the dynamic environment of health care. The leader is not easily swayed by problems but is able to come up with efficient solutions. In addition, a health care leader is a change agent. Health care is changing fast; there are new markets coming up, new technology, new compensation methods, and globalization effects. The leader is open to these changes and leads the team in adapting fast to the change (Lindsey, 2012). How to be a leader/manager in health care To be a good manager, one should seek education about the specific management role of interest and always keep abreast with the changes in the health care environment. To keep abreast of these changes, one can subscribe to periodic editorials, attend management conferences and seminars, and subscribe to professional bodies. A study done in the United Kingdom revealed a strong relationship between good managerial practices and clinical degree holders (Dorgan, et al., 2010). Murray (2010) also asserts that unlike leadership that is inborn, management is learned. One should also keep constant and efficient communication between the stakeholders involved in healthcare such as the government, doctor, and nurses bodies and other relevant personnel. Use the stakeholders to create new possibilities and innovations in the medical field (Shiparski & Styles, 2011). It is also advisable that before you become a manager, you be an assistant of a successful manager. Job shadowing helps one to learn from the mistakes of others and gives one a realistic expectation of the role. It also helps one identify weaknesses in the system that you can rectify when you become the manager (Armstrong, 2011). Some fundamental questions that a health care leader should ask are: What do I expect the leadership will do for my career and me? What impact will my leadership have on my subordinates, patients, other leaders, and profession? These questions will act as a basis to critically oneself’ before taking on a leadership role. Once one has the answers, evaluate the personality trait and its influence on the type of leadership. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the personality traits and ways to improve the weaknesses. Take an inventory of the people who influenced your life with their leadership throughout your lifetime in areas other than health care. Such people will give you an insight of what other people expect of you and the impact that you may have on their lives. Take an inventory too of the people that you have influenced in past leadership capacities in health care and outside healthcare. This will help gauge your capabilities and give you a realistic analysis on the same. Health care is diverse and one cannot be a leader in all areas. Therefore, an individual should identify what he or she is passionate about in the diverse health field. This area should be congruent with one’s purpose in life otherwise; you will not feel contented over time. Then list down your goals over the lifespan of the leadership role. They should be both short-term and long-term goals. These goals should be kept in a place where you can see them on a daily basis. Good leadership should have direction and purpose and these goals will be the guide (Reed, 2009). Missions and duties of the leader/manager in healthcare The mission of a manager in healthcare should be to coordinate the fiscal and administrative aspects of integrated health care. The integrated health care approach involves teamwork of health practitioners in both conventional, and complementary and alternative medicine (Singer & Adams, 2013). To ensure the mission’s fulfillment, the manager has to oversee the successful implementation of some duties. The manager’s duty is to ensure that the right policies and procedures are in place offer support for the organizational structure. Policies include where to source for drugs, finances, and relevant support services. Procedures include how to implement these policies (Singer & Adams, 2013). The manager also has a duty to ensure that the various stakeholders providing integrated health care have distinct job descriptions to avoid an overlap of duties. The job descriptions should also encompass the full capabilities of the team members. According to a study by Schneiderman (2008), nurses argued that the limited job descriptions and often-unclear ones hindered their capabilities to provide patients with the required care. The mission of a health care leader on the other hand is to establish and leave a care legacy in the concerned health facility. The mission of most health care facilities is to provide healing and service through quality patient care in the right environment. Leadership care legacy enables the facility accomplish this mission. The hospital is a high stress environment and therefore the leader has a duty to ensure that the employees feel cared for as well. Reed (2009) asserts that for hospital employees to give adequate care to patients, their leaders must give them care too. He adds that care ensures productivity, employee satisfaction, staff retention, patient satisfaction, and their general healing. Murray (2010) asserts that a leader develops while the manager maintains. Therefore, besides ensuring that both the patients and the staff have adequate care, the leader has a duty of developing efficient policies and procedures for the manager to implement. Permissions of a leader/manager in health care The permissions of a manager are outlined in the privacy rules 45 CFR 164.501 (Uses and disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations). The manager has permission to implement management and administrative policies that govern privacy of a patient such as disclosure and use of personal information. He has permission to send personal information to a specialist, consult with other practitioners, and disclose protected information for the treatment of a patient under his organization. He also deals in policies governing customer service, assets transfer and sale, underwriting contracts that govern health benefits, claims, and insurance, and cost-management. In addition, the manager reviews and assesses care management, certification of the health practitioners, training of the health care personnel on matters concerning privacy (Uses and disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations). The leader on the other hand has permission to advice the staff about the provision of services under a contractual agreement, and approving of the contracts. He also provides the guidelines for termination or renegotiation of contractual terms such as the continual of a patients care even after termination of the contract. They also innovate management and administrative policies governing privacy for the manager to implement (Peisert, 2009). As Murray (2010) asserts, the leader innovates whereas the leader implements. Responsibilities of the leader/manager in health care According to Thompson, Buchbinder, & Shanks (2013), health care managers have six basic responsibilities: Planning, organizing, staffing, controlling, directing, and decision-making. Planning involves setting priorities and identifying relevant performance targets. The manager should find a balance between patient priorities, staff priorities, and the organizations priorities. Performance targets should be both short-term and long-term, and congruent with the competency of the staff. Organizing involves setting up an efficient organizational structure. It also involves clarifying job descriptions, delegation of duties, and teamwork assignments. To organize, the manager also considers the staffing requirements, control, and directing strategies. Staffing involves coming up with innovative ways of acquiring new staff that are competent and dedicated to the health care profession. It also involves innovative strategies and tactics for retaining the staff. Such strategies may include good remuneration packages, reasonable off and leave days, efficient promotion strategies, and comfortable working hours. Controlling involves setting up strategies that can monitor the activities and performance of the staff. However, these monitors should not be rigid such that the staff members are hindered from taking actions beyond their job descriptions to save lives. Controlling also involves relative corrective actions when performance fails to meet the set standards. However, these actions should not be punishments. Direction involves the manager taking initiative and responsibility for actions that he or she expects the subordinates to follow. When malpractices occur in the health care facility, blame is directed towards the manager. Therefore, he should always not only set standards but also live by those standards. Decision-making is a summation of the other five responsibilities. The manager analyses the other responsibilities and from the weaknesses or strengths identified, he makes the necessary decision. The leader has a responsibility for motivating the staff members. The health care field has been identified as one of the occupations that is particularly stressful. The leader should therefore always encourage the staff, giving them appraisals where need be. Such appraisals can be either self or team based. However, team-appraisals should be encouraged than self-appraisals to avoid cases of competition among staff members that can be detrimental to the overall performance of the organization. A leader ensures that the staff needs are well catered for and that the necessary support services are present. The leader becomes the link between the management and the staff (Nielsen, Randall, & Munir, 2009). They also have a responsibility of encouraging staff members to take up responsibilities. Health care will often demand the caregivers to dedicate more time than a regular worker. The leader has to ensure that the workers take the extra responsibility without feeling overworked. They challenge the staff to come up with innovative ways of better health care. In addition, current trends require the leader to take the responsibility of ensuring accountable care. Accountable care ensures high levels of accountability in financial performance, stakeholder engagement, clinical-excellence, leadership roles, and patient-centered care. Accountable care also treats the patient as part of the health team as opposed to being a patient (Shiparski, & Styles, 2011). A good leader and manager in health care A good manager on the other hand, is one who can manage competition efficiently. Such a manager exerts more effort when faced with new competition in rival health care centers and ensures that the organization is always at the top. A good manager is also multi-skilled. He can combine the skills of technology, management, health care, finances and other relevant field in health care with ease (Dorgan et al., 2010). In addition, a good manager is one who can efficiently carry out the five responsibilities explained above. He can plan well, delegate duties accordingly, direct the team to greater heights, exercise reasonable control over the group whilst respecting others, and make strategic decisions of profit to the organization. A good leader in health care is a transformative leader. Nielsen, Randall, and Munir (2009) assert that currently transformative leadership is encouraged in healthcare and nursing environments because it promotes commitment, job satisfaction, and psychological well-being. Zhu et al. (2012) identify four elements of transformative leadership: Inspirational motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Under inspirational motivation, the leader is highly motivating. Excellent communication skills in both talking and active listening enable the leader to motivate. Nurses in the U.S. agree that a motivational leader helps them enjoy their work and boosts their job satisfaction (Casida & Parker, 2011). Under idealized influence, a transformative leader practices high moral standards and upholds the ethics of the health care profession. The subordinates are thus able to emulate the leader’s behavior. Under intellectual stimulation, the leader challenges the team to innovate new health care ideas. He is slow to reprimand them and quick to praise new ideas. Nielsen, Randall, and Munir (2009) assert that intellectual motivation develops self-efficacy and team-efficacy vital in health care especially in research. Under individualized consideration, the leader exploits the individual strengths of the team and encourages the individual members to strengthen their weaknesses through relevant courses. Conclusion To be a good manager, education is very important because one is involved in the administrative aspects of the business. In leadership, education is not as important because it is inherent. However, self-assessment of one’s strength and weaknesses is important before the start of a new leadership role. The mission of a manger is to co-ordinate the fiscal and administrative aspects of health care and has a duty to ensure that the right policies and procedures are implemented. On the other hand, the mission of a leader is to establish and leave a legacy of care in health care and has a duty to care. The responsibilities of a leader revolve around ensuring that both staff and patients are comfortable with the policies and procedures put in place whereas the manager plans, organizes, directs, coordinates, staff, and make decisions. The manager possesses the conceptual abilities, technical abilities and interpersonal skills whereas a leader is trustworthy, a change agent, and is able to manage diversity. In addition, a good leader is a transformative leader whereas a good manager is one who can efficiently carry out the five basic responsibilities. Lastly, the law gives the leader permission to innovate management policies governing the privacy of patients whereas the manager implements such policies. References Armstrong, M. (2011). How to be an even better manager: A complete A-Z of proven techniques and essential skills. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Casida, J., & Parker, J. (2011). Staff nurse perceptions of nurse manager leadership styles and outcomes. Journal of Nursing Management, 19 (4), 478-486. Dorgan, S., Layton, D., Bloom, N., Homkes, R., Sadun, R., & Reenen, J. V. (2010). Management in health care: Why good practice really matters. McKinsey and Company. 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