Orthopaedic Surgery Practice in Nowadays - Case Study Example

With the advancement of science and technology, the lives of humans have also become advanced and importantly comfortable. Comfortable in the sense, our physical body and mental mind can be safeguarded from various threats using science and technology. This is greatly visible in the field of medicine. From formulated tablets to computerized equipment, many inventions, discoveries and also innovations have arisen in the medical industry. And one of the important ones is the MRI scan, which can scan the whole human body and can diagnose any injuries, abnormalities etc. This paper will discuss from the point of view of an administrator, who intends to start a mobile MRI scan service and also analyzes its opportunities, challenges etc. Orthopaedic surgery practice Opportunity statement Normally, if there is a quite a good concentration of human population, the risk of humans getting physical injury and abnormalities will always be there. If the population is higher, the risk element will also rise, and the risk will translate into actual cases of persons getting injured and having abnormalities. As there will be the need to diagnose this injured, the opportunity of using MRI will also get optimized. Administrator’s vision The administrator’s management of the orthopaedic surgery practice would have given him/her enough work experience, which would, gave him/her a clear and confident vision of the scope of MRI service. And this vision can be easily used to turn the challenge into opportunity. “Vision gives you the impulse to make the picture your own” (Collier). That is, as an administrator of an orthopaedic surgery practice, he/she may know the importance of the MRI scan, for the treatment of majority of the orthopaedic cases. As orthopedics is the specialized branch of medicine, which deals with ‘internal’ bones, tissues, muscles and nerves, MRI will be of great use. Internal is the key word because no orthopaedic specialist could pinpoint an injury or any abnormality just from viewing the external body. So in that case, only scientific equipment like MRI scans will be the viable option. “MRI…is a non-invasive method used to render images of the inside of an object. It is primarily used in medical imaging to demonstrate pathological or other physiological alterations of living tissues.” (wikipedia.com). And that MRI will be put to great use, if the MRI services become portable. That is, when one gets injured in the any part of limbs (upper and the lower included) or in any other important bones, one cannot move with comfort. They need to be brought to the orthopaedic service by someone, which could be friends or relatives. And this friends or relatives may not know the correct procedures to shift an injured. That is, the shifting should be carried out in a set pattern, and if this is not followed it will aggravate the injury to an untreatable level. In that case, the portable MRI services will be a viable option. So, the vision of the administrator to transform the challenge into an opportunity can be easily fulfilled, due to the utility of this MRI services. The maximum structures in the orthopedic surgery practice will be impacted by this situation of introducing MRI services. In any organization, an introduction of a new service will always have impact on all its structures and departments. The same will be the case with orthopaedic surgery practice. And the impact of the new service will be first felt in the financial or account section. As MRI scan or machine is expensive equipment, and as it’s functioning and maintenance also needs financial resources, the financial or account section has to foot the bill. Even though the management with the administrator decides the purchase and payment of the machines, and the other added services, it is the financial or account section which have to allocate the funds and maintain the movement of funds. Then, the main part of the practice, the surgery structure will also be impacted. That is, with the implementation of MRI service more patients would approach the orthopaedic surgery practice. That is, patients in the orthopaedic surgery practice locality, who will be taken to a nearby or faraway hospital in search of MRI services, could approach this facility itself, increasing the patient intake. Also, with more persons using MRI as a diagnostic tool, it will increase the incidence of the same people having the surgery as a curative procedure. So, the organizational structure of surgery practice will also be impacted by the MRI services as well as the physical structure. That is, with the installation of new MRI services, new rooms, infrastructure, etc has to be created. Environmental factors The introduction of new services in an organization will always be impacted by environmental factors. That is, apart from the impacts, the new service will have on the organization structures; the new service will in turn be impacted by the environmental factors. Environmental factors will come in the form of competition, reimbursement, employment etc. Competition is a factor that will be visible in all spheres and orthopaedic surgery practice will be no exception. “A competitive world offers two possibilities. You can lose. Or, if you want to win, you can change” (thinkexist.com). Being a new player is itself a disadvantage for the MRI services because the already existing MRI services due to their longevity in existence and service would have got a good image and trust. In that case, breaking their market will be a difficult proposition. Also, garnering the new market will also be tough task because of the presence of lower priced MRI providers. In most societies, it is the lower price that sells, even though that low price could only provide a low quality. This lower price may kill the competition garnering all the market. And the orthopaedic surgery practice will also have to face this same predicament, as it has to faces stiff competition from other lower priced MRI providers. Talking about the other environmental factor of employment, even though the MRI service is automated, it needs the human initiation and management. So, qualified personnel needed to be appointed to fulfill this role. But the problem will arise when radiologists and other supportive staffs cannot be recruited due to lack of personnel. Even if they are recruited, paying the satisfied salary will also impact the MRI services. That is, employees who include radiologists and supportive personnel may demand higher salary at the time of recruitment itself and also after spending their time in the service and establishing their utility. But that hike may exceed the stipulated budget of the total MRI services and the functioning of the MRI services will be affected. So, the environmental factors like competition, employment and reimbursement would impact the MRI services immensely. Initiatives and plans to reach Strategic goals Every organization that is present all over the world will set goals and work towards it. And to reach those strategic goals, human resource plans or initiatives should be formulated and implemented. The human resource initiatives mainly come into the picture during the recruitment of the worker, retention of the workers and in the overall development of the MRI services. That is, getting a radiologist who has the required educational qualification as well as the necessary experience is a difficult task. Because of tight employment situation, the ‘job’ of finding the correct personnel will become a challenge. But, finding the right personnel is job-half done and it will aid the development of the MRI services. So, by placing advertisements in the newspapers and inquiring through correct contacts, the right personnel could be selected. And these human resource initiatives should be carried without break till finding the apt candidate. Then, the retention of the candidate will be the major factor to the overall functioning of the MRI services as well for the achievement of the strategic goals. That is, if the personnel did not get job satisfaction and wanted to leave for better prospects, they will put down the paper leaving the organization high and dry. In this case also, human resource initiatives and plans have to be implemented to retain them. That is, job dissatisfaction and low motivation will come, if there is a bad-working environment, bad relationship with co-workers and superiors, mobbing etc. “…low levels of worker motivation and commitment result in poor quality work... and poor balance of the flow of work” (Mabey, Salaman and Storey, 1998). In that case, human resource personnel should hear the exact problem and reassure him/her that there will be further avoidance of the problems. Assuring is not enough, solving the actual problem and giving the good working environment is important. The personnel’s quest for other jobs by leaving the organization can be curtailed by motivating and retaining them through an appropriate appraisal and reward system. That is, one of the reasons the personnel may leave the MRI services is, if they receive higher pay from other services. But, if the orthopaedics surgery practice’s management itself gives regular appraisal they will stick with the services. Also, rewarding the best performing staff at correct moments will motivate the staff to give his/her best and also motivate other staffs to work to get their rewards. This will clearly retain the personnel and importantly will push the workers to give their best service. Best service, which will help the orthopaedic surgery practice, to achieve its USP (Unique Selling Point) of providing high quality medical service that other provider cannot match. Line-item budget for the personnel (Orthopaedic surgery practice) Personnel Annual Salary Radiologist $500,000 4 Support Staff $60,000 Total salary to the personnel $560,000 Functional budget Total revenue 10,000 X cost for single procedure Personnel Expenses 560,000(total salary to the personnel) Personnel cost per MRI procedure Total revenue/total expenses Program budget for 3000 patients visits 3000 X cost for single procedure Reference: Collier, Robert. About: Quotation. Quotations on Vision. Retrieved on February 28, 2008 from http://quotations.about.com/cs/inspirationquotes/a/Vision1.htm Mabey, C, Salaman, G, and Storey, J. (1998). Strategic Human Resource Management – A Reader, Sage, London Thinkexist.com. Quotes. Retrieved on February 28, 2008 from http://thinkexist.com/quotation/a_competitive_world_offers_two_possibilities- you/13990.html Wikipedia.com. Magnetic Resonance Imaging: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on February 28, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging Read More