Ashtabula County Medical Center - Research Paper Example

Ashtabula County Medical Center Ashtabula County Medical Center (ACMC) Mission Ashtabula County Medical Center (ACMC) is a Medicare licensed agency that offers health care. It is a non-profitable community based medical center with an objective of offering high quality medical care for those seeking medical help. Vision Statement Guided by sincerity, empathy and respect, Ashtabula County Medical Center is committed to providing the best medical care in the region. This will be achieved by aligning the center’s organizational strategy with Five Pillars of Excellence as follows; Build an excellent service culture to patients, staff and the entire community.

Measure and improve the quality of health care delivery. Improve job performance, responsibility and satisfaction of people and in so doing develop sound and focused leadership through recognition of excellent behavior. Maintain sound financial stability and accountability. Focus on growth of facilities and technology in order to meet the needs of the community in accomplishment of mission Objectives Ashtabula County Medical Center endeavors to promote: Sound management of well-being needs. Rehabilitation and utmost independence of patients.

Provision of support to the patient and family. Prescribed therapeutic treatments. This review will be based on the Pharmacy Department of Ashtabula County Medical Center. THE PHARMACY DEPARTMENT SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths The pharmacy offers a variety of functions in medical service including prescription and follow-up. This is a unique offer which is rare in most pharmacies around the area. The pharmacy capitalizes on this aspect to serve a large number of patients visiting the hospital. In this case, quality excellent service has been achieved.

In addition, the pharmacy work force is a committed one offering high quality service as envisioned in the mission and vision statements. To ensure accountability, the Department has a licensed special unit and wholesaler. Quality drugs are therefore delivered on time to ensure smooth flow of services. The department further, integrates into clinical teams when called to do so. Several specialists have been employed to ensure excellent service delivery. The specialist receives constant robust training in tandem with the current technology.

They also have access to IT hardware and expert systems. Weaknesses The pharmacy a few gaps in service provision. For instance, audit of medicine use and practice has been the greatest challenge. Corporate medicine incident monitoring and management has also been a hard nut to crack. In addition, week end and after working hour’s time access to the pharmacy has been a difficult agenda to overcome. However, the problem can be overcome with additional staff in order to work in shifts even during weekends and late night hours.

The gaps in access of the pharmacy can be addressed by developing options that would grant access to the pharmacy for instance on Sundays. Safety concerns can be addressed by reorganizing the pharmacy and maximizing the use of space. “Other weaknesses include; little training for pre and post registration doctors and nurses, safety provisions within the pharmacy, supervision and management of junior staff, Matching the number of staff with dispensing workload and poor systems to audit medicines for purposes of governance and financial reporting” (Keynes, 2005).

Opportunities There is a possibility for more amalgamation of pharmacists into directorates. Cost improvement plans on medicines for purpose of tracking dispensing and hence seal loopholes in accountability and financial reporting. In addition, there is a need to increase the number of non-medical prescribers for more convenience and efficiency in prescription. There is also a chance to work with primary care trust in management of long-term conditions and drug costs. “Pharmacy White Paper recognises the need for pharmacy input at strategic health authority level” (Heurist, 2011).

To ensure directorate integration, there is a need to develop a service level accord via trading accounts. It is also important to note that to achieve improved service delivery, there is a need to implement recommendations. Threats Ashtabula County Medical Center operates under some threats amid shortage of qualified pharmacy staff especially in specialized prescription of drugs. In addition, there are conflicting priorities due to pressure during admission, in patient hang about and during discharge.

“Cash releasing cost improvement can only be sourced from pharmacy staff budget” (Chisholm-Burns, 2014). This is a big challenge as it may not always be available. The cost and commitments towards training of staff and reduced funding pose a threat to the pharmacy as the exercise may not be sustained for long. In order to solve the problem of staff shortage, there is a need to improve the working conditions and terms of service for all employees by making the pharmacy the best place to work in.

On conflicting priorities, there is a need to agree on priorities through modernization of medical careers and proper governance. References: Chisholm-Burns, M. A., Vaillan court, A. M., & Shepherd, M. (2014): Pharmacy management, Leadership, marketing, and finance: Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Heurist, K. N., Rollins, B. L., & Perri, M. (2011): Financial analysis in pharmacy practice. London: Pharmaceutical Press. Keynes, S. B. (2005). Pharmacy business management, London [Pharmaceutical Press.