Healthcare Administration in Urban Hospital - Coursework Example

Healthcare Administration In Urban Hospital Grade Year Healthcare Administration in Urban Hospital The changing medical scenario has compelled healthcare organizations to review their code of ethics and business strategies. The recent changes have been the inevitable result of advancement in technology and medical science. Success of hospital is determined by a number of factors such as efficient and specialized doctors, modern healthcare equipments and facilities, anytime service with excellent proficiency, and reputation of the organization. Besides, the role of an efficient management is significant which would align all other assets and human resource to accomplish the assigned goals and success. Only a good management can lead an urban hospital to success in this era of cutthroat competition. Designing and implementing strategies is the important function of management. Recruitment and retention of doctors is also very vital part of its function. These are the basic concepts that govern my thought while designing strategies for my own urban hospital. Although today’s labor market is heaving with good number of faculties, deploying the right and potential candidates in appropriate positions requires extraordinary managerial skills. Mode of advertising Advertising for experienced physicians through a variety of media is easily possible today. Recruit agencies are at our doorsteps ready to provide us with efficient labor force. They can introduce potential candidates as employees or as contractors. However, among these various service options I prefer to choose physicians through newspaper advertisement and through office interview. Obviously this method is quite conventional and outmoded. Yet in my opinion, it is the best and practical way to assess the proficiency of a candidate. Unlike online recruitment and interview, this method seems to be more reliable to find out expected behaviors. Running an urban hospital requires extraordinary skills, courage, professional sternness and knowledge. Beyond all business aspects it is a great service area which is highly answerable to an array of legal and ethical obligations. Obviously the most valuable asset of a hospital is its physicians. I would advertise on daily news due to the following reasons; first, it is the cheapest and best method which would catch the attention of local inhabitants. A candidate from within the township is more preferable because presumably he can offer more time for the service as compared to others. Moreover people are exceedingly concerned about the reputation of doctors more than ever before. So an efficient doctor from their own reach can extremely influence the success of a hospital. Employees vs. contractors As an emerging trend a number of physicians are working as independent contractors in many of the urban hospitals. Irrespective of its possible benefits, I would prefer doctors hired as my employees for a number of good reasons. The best reason for my view is that independent contractors often fail to maintain commitment to their profession because they might be working in different hospitals simultaneously. Therefore, they concentrate more on personal rewards in the form of money; whereas employees maintain a feeling of ownership and responsibility which would positively influence their performance. “The moment an individual seeks employment in an organization is the moment a compromise begins.” (Hunt, 1992, p.39). The expected behaviors in my organization can be; 1. People with high aptitude and serious concerns toward their careers 2. Individuals who comply with the code of conduct of the organizations 3. Individuals who stick to their goals 4. Those who maintain the anticipated standards in their performance 5. The employees who cooperate with collogues Regarding their professional licensing, besides their qualification and area of specialization professional experience and past service history also will be counted to a great extent. Enough experience and professional reputation are inevitable factors that determine the range of service from a physician. Qualification alone will not necessarily help an individual; moreover experience and reputation are the major factors that attract the interest of common people too. Being the CEO of a major private hospital, I would focus more on the reputation and business aspects than any other trivial subjects. Remuneration and reward The criteria for doctors’ compensation will be a number of factors such as their repute, experience, availability, duration of service, working time (day or night). In addition to the initial pay they would get commission on a quarterly basis on every additional income. Some of the common benefits every organization offers are vacations, sick leave, and pensions. Rewards like salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses and merit awards can be named individual rewards. These individual rewards are important factors in attracting individuals to work for a firm. Therefore two things are important to link the performance and rewards. First, the criteria for the performance must be appropriate to the career and secondly the objectives of the organization must be well interpreted because the wrong criteria will lead to inadequate performance. Usually the reward devise is influenced by the managers’ performance assessment. There are certain factors which obstruct the effort –performance-reward equation. A system which offers promotion, high pay and other rewards to all but in reality provides those rewards to a few, predictably brings frustration. Therefore, I would follow an unambiguous ideology with regard to the reward strategies. Although some are of the opinion that intrinsic reward must be given equal priority with personal rewards, professional physicians have been found money as their primary motivating factor. “The only way for the organizations to change rapidly enough is to design them so that they can adjust their strategic intents, structures and human capital deployments as a matter of routine that means starting with a new set of core principles about what an organization should look like.” (Lawler & Worley 2009). Other privileges The physicians who work with me will have the opportunity to enjoy certain privileges. They will be given autonomy to use their discretionary power at emergency situations especially in case of healthcare activities. Moreover the doctors will have the freedom to put forward reasonable suggestions and time to time advice. They have the free will to choose their term of service with the hospital provided that they give a prior notice of three months to their departure. The expected behaviors in my hospital should have certain basic qualities. Commitment to the career and professionalism are the initial qualities expected. In addition we count the pleasing personality of a doctor as an additional quality which would enhance the interpersonal relationship between patients and doctors. Good physicians should be good at decision making in critical situations. Moreover they should be well aware of the legal and ethical parameters of healthcare issues in which they should perform their service. Assessing the qualities of a physician is not a difficult task. The best way is collecting customer (patients) feedback. The growing or diminishing popularity of a physician and hospital can be assessed from the opinion of the customers. Less number of complaints and error reports also will be counted in favor of the particular physician. Outstanding performance besides their routine service also is the proof of their individual quality. Likewise the potentiality of a physician can be easily assessed by a well experienced CEO. Termination from service Quality assessment is the procedure that determines the retention of physicians in hospitals. I would not follow any severe rules on this regard. Yet, irresponsible behaviors can not be tolerated in the organization where I am the CEO. All physicians shall adhere to the organizational code of ethics, considering it as the frame work for professional responsibilities and a criterion for members for self-evaluation. Termination process will take place soon if any deliberate misbehavior is identified. Irrespective of all other qualities, if a physician has been accused of any legal or ethical violation he will be terminated. Sometimes owing to incompetence also termination becomes inevitable. Whatever might be the cause, termination process will be highly official which would ensure avoiding unwanted disputes. The person will be given show cause notice and the process will end in signing in a written negotiation. If the termination is due to ineffectiveness, the individual may receive an additional compensation. The concept behind this practice is that ‘inefficiency is not an error or a crime’. To conclude, today organizations are targeting specific individual groups that align with their business goals. Many CEOs of healthcare organizations often find difficulties with integrating their physicians in order to accomplish the intended mission. The major reason might be the lack of goal alignment. The fiscal importance of their strategy also would lead to goal disparities which can adversely affect the smooth functioning of the organization. Therefore hospitals need to revamp their human capital management, reward strategies and departmental structure. The system should include all different types of incentives which would attract, motivate and retain the desired individuals for participating in healthcare activities (Rumpel & Medcof, 2006). References Lawler &Worley (2009). The rebirth of change. People Management Magazine; 29 Jan 2009 Rumpel, Steven, Medcof & John W (2006). Total Rewards: Good Fit for Tech Workers, Industrial Research Institute, Inc, pp. 27-35 Hunt J. W., (1992) Managing People at Work: A Manager’s Guide to Behavior in Organizations, 3rd edn, illustrated. Mc Graw-Hill, pp. 29-44 Read More