Structured Stakeholder Analysis - the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Organization - Essay Example

Stakeholder Analysis Introduction In health care, stakeholders play a key role in that they are increasingly becoming important elements in making decisions related to this context. As is the case, the health care context is overly wide and the players in the sector cannot alone manage to perfectly manage it without the assistance of stakeholders. The stakeholders who are mostly associated with health care include providers, patients, insurers, product developers, and NGOs to mention but a few. Collectively, they either assist in making sound decisions meant to better health care dissemination, or assist in the actual dissemination. This paper will review The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal organization as a key stakeholder in healthcare, with regards to how it acts towards solving the issue of microbial resistance. Overview of Rosenthal Family Foundation The association of the Rosenthal Family foundation to health care is derived from its connection with the Institute of Medicine, IOM which in 1988 initiated an outreach program. The program aimed at creating a communal innovative outreach through which organizations and other able parties could team up with the IOM and brainstorm together in solving specific issues in health care. The Rosenthal Family Foundation, which at that time was known as the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation, strongly moved in to support the move by the IOM. Ever since, the two have been working as partners year after year, and have been including additional experts in the fields in addressing some health policy issues. The main operational base of this partnership has been around Washington DC, although their services in health care have at times extended to other parts of the United States (Institute of Medicine, 2014). Issue in focus One of the most recent campaigns hosted by the partnership between the Institute of Medicine and the Rosenthal Family Foundation is titled “The 2014 Richard and Rosenthal Symposium 2014: Antimicrobial Resistance: A Problem without Borders”. In this campaign, the foundation reveals that it was inspired by a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report stated that of the five threats currently facing the United States, antimicrobial resistance dominates as one of the most critical. The issue lies in that about two million Americans acquire bacterial infections, which prove resistant to one or more antibiotics. The result of this is approximately twenty-three thousand annual deaths (CDCP, 2014). The Rosenthal Foundation is representing the World Health Organization, which through the White House in 2011 raised a global alarm regarding the onset of the threat which is not only America. Rather, it affects every nation on the planet. The WHO went as far as dedicating its 2011 World Health Day to this issue. As such, the Rosenthal Foundation felt that sensitizing other health care bodies as well as the public about microbial resistance was indeed very necessary. The intention of the Rosenthal Foundation’s sensitization campaign is to create awareness of the emerging threat which they state is not a domestic problem, but is international. As such, they seek to first of all unite the global health care fraternity, as well as their stakeholders into brainstorming on the issue and settling upon a common resolution. One of the desired impacts is that each nation should understand its type of microbial resistance, and from that, leading causes of death can be tackled (and reduced). Second, it will be much easier to prevent the microbial resistance once the problem is well understood (Institute of Medicine, 2014). These are the impacts that the health care sector will acquire. The governments of the member nations or states will benefit in that microbial resistance is quite costly to treat or control, as is seen in the case of the United States. Annually, approximately twenty billion dollars are channeled towards managing microbial resistance. Finally, the patients are bound to gain from that their health will be better taken care of. In the light of this, less medical expenses will be incurred, obstruction of normal life will reduce, and more importantly, the number of patient deaths will significantly go down. Generally, the world will be better off economically and health-wise. Stakeholder organization perspective The reason offered by the Rosenthal Foundation in mediating is that the health care sector alone cannot effectively handle the problem. This is because other than providing the actual care, prevention and managing microbial resistance are necessary in curbing the situation. Since the foundation cannot provide the actual care of microbial resistance, it decided to employ other means. First, it realized that lack of knowledge concerning microbial resistance was one reason why more patients were falling into the condition. Second, it acknowledged that inadequate or incorrect information led to the problem since prevention and/or diagnosis was ineffective. Finally, it was revealed that lack of, or existence of inadequate surveillance systems was making it hard to tell the exact magnitude of microbial resistance, as well as hindering the means of addressing it (Institute of Medicine, 2014). Collectively, health security was in need. With this perspective in mind, the Rosenthal Foundation rolled out its “Antimicrobial Resistance: A Problem without Borders” campaign seeking to find an end to the issue. Partner organization, APUA In addition to the Institute of Medicine, the Rosenthal Foundation works closely with the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA). The organization realizes that microbial resistance emerges from amongst other issues, lack of access to, or improper use of antimicrobial agents. As such, APUA promotes the appropriate use, as well as access to microbial agents which include antimalarials, antivirals, and antibiotics to mention but a few (APUA, 2014). The objectives of APUA as is evident concur with the perspectives of the Rosenthal Foundation in that both acknowledge that the issue is real and dangerous, and are therefore putting their best feet forward to counter it once and for all. Concisely, theirs is a shared approach towards microbial resistance. Stuart Levy Stuart B. Levy is the President of APUA, having founded it in 1981 as a non-profit organization. He doubles up as a Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Medicine, and is the director of the Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance at the Tufts University School of Medicine. His first medical degree was awarded by the University of Pennsylvania. He cleared his residency at the New York Mount Sinai Hospital, and underwent his postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Health. He is also the consult for the Institute of Medicine, the United States National Academy of Science, and the WHO. Finally, he is the former chairperson of the United States Fogarty Center Study (Tufts Medical Center, 2014). Advantage of Stuart to Rosenthal Foundation By having levy as a partner, Rosenthal foundation benefits significantly. First, his expertise in the antibiotics and microbial field ensures that they know what they are addressing quite well. In addition, Levy is bound to provide them with the scientific as well as general application knowledge required in tackling the problem. Second, the affiliation of Levy with big institutions wins Rosenthal Foundation the credibility and publicity that they need to further their program. As such, they possess the ability to sensitize on accurate information through the right and effective channels, not to mention receiving adequate support. If the program achieves its objectives, health care benefits in that more persons are reached, care is sufficiently provided. In a nutshell, the health care fraternity will have attained its goals of serving more people, better. Levy’s positions require of him to be sufficiently relevant with microbial knowledge as well as public relations. The reasons for this being that he has to know what to say about the problem and how to solve it, and again, he has to know how to say it, and to who. These two factors combined, he will have contributed so much in the microbial resistance campaigns. As earlier stated, he works with Universities, hospitals, NGOs, NPOs, and the World Health organization. His relationship to these stakeholders is that they brainstorm together where he disseminates his knowledge to them, supports their policies, or they work together in solving health care issues. In his power, Stuart Levy possesses the ability to improve health care by providing the very much needed information to parties such as the universities and global organizations such as the WHO. In so doing, dealing with health care issues would be much simpler, and health care would attain its goals of providing excellent universal care. Conclusion Evidence from this paper reveals that stakeholders can play major roles in driving health care forward. Apart from assisting in decision-making, they can participate in the actual dissemination of information and services as is the case with Rosenthal foundation. Additionally, having a player such as levy who possesses the know-how regarding a problem as well as providing links to higher organizations could further boost advocacy programs such as addressing the microbial resistance. Collectively, these actions by stakeholders would boost the effectiveness of health care, and the world would be healthier, thus safe. References Alliance for the prudent Use of Antibiotics. (2014). “About Us”. Retrieved on 24 October, 2014 from http://www.tufts.edu/med/apua/about_us/what_we_do.shtml CDCP. (2014, June 2). “Threat Report 2013”. Retrieved on 24 October, 2014 from http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/ Institute of Medicine. (2014). “The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Symposium 2014: Antimicrobial Resistance: A Problem Without Borders”. The National Academy of Sciences. Tufts MedicalCenter. (2014). “Stuart B. Levy, MD”. Retrieved on 24 October, 2014 from https://www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/PhysicianDirectory/Stuart-Levy.aspx?dpt=11d55215-6673-49cf-93c9-ebed87cf6149 Read More