Uncertainty Is a Major Inhibitor in the Development of Health Service or Program Planning - Term Paper Example

Uncertainty is a major inhibitor in the development of health service or program planning. Discuss how one may manage uncertainty in order to producemore robust plans. Uncertainty is a major inhibitor in the development of health service or program planning. Discuss how one may manage uncertainty in order to produce more robust plans. Introduction In the context of the healthcare service industry, the development of successful plans is depended on a series of factors. Current paper focuses on the impact of one of these factors, of uncertainty, on the plans related to health services or programs. The management of risk, or, else, uncertainty, in the healthcare sector can be extremely difficult, taking into consideration the sector’s challenges. A series of studies related to this subject has been reviewed in order to check whether uncertainty could be appropriately managed so that it can help towards the production of more robust plans in the health services sector. It is made clear that the level of uncertainty in the particular sector is significant and multi-dimensional. Still, it is possible for uncertainty related to the sector’s plans to be effectively managed but only if a series of terms are met, as suggested below. A potential plan for managing uncertainty in the health services sector is suggested based on the findings and the views of researchers who have studied the particular issue. Uncertainty in health service planning – overview The high level of uncertainty in the health services sector cannot be doubted. In fact, it seems that uncertainty is related to most of the sector’s activities, as reflected in the following example: among his daily obligations, a healthcare practitioner has to check whether a person needs cure or not and whether the treatment provided to a patient is appropriate in regard to the health problem involved (Barnard & Lee 1977, p.199). Other issues, such as the potential existence of alternatives and the implications of a treatment after a particular period of time, need also to be taken into consideration by healthcare practitioners in healthcare units worldwide (Barnard & Lee 1977, p.199). The above issues can lead to the development of uncertainty, at the level that the healthcare practitioner can face difficulties in identifying the appropriate plan of action in regard to a specific patient (Barnard & Lee 1977, p.199). Moreover, a healthcare practitioner would need to ensure that the demographics of the patients and their health status have been accurately described in their file, so that the case of false diagnosis and treatment because of such mistakes is eliminated (Barnard & Lee 1977, p.199). In practice, it has been proved that there are certain factors that further lead to the increase of uncertainty in the healthcare sector: a) negative habits of the patient, as for instance, smoking and alcohol, b) the biological/ genetic characteristics of the patient, c) the family and working environment of the patient and d) the socio-economic conditions in which the patient lives (Barnard & Lee 1977, p.199). Apart from the internal factors that can support uncertainty in the healthcare sector, there are also certain external factors that can lead to the increase of uncertainty in the particular industry: a) the economic status of patients, as this status can negatively affect the access of individuals to the sector’s services (Smithson & Bammer 2012, p.154), b) the level of investment available for the sector’s development; quite often, the amount spent on the healthcare services sector is low, compared to the sector’s needs (Smithson & Bammer 2012, p.154); in case that the amount spent on the sector’s services is low, then the quality of services provided to the public will be also low (Smithson & Bammer 2012, p.154), and c) the skills and capabilities of the industry’s professionals; when individuals who work in the particular sector are not appropriately skilled or trained, the risks for failures and delays can be high (Smithson & Bammer 2012, p.154). In the above case, uncertainty in the healthcare industry can be significantly increased since the needs of individuals in terms of their health are not taken into consideration by the planners of the industry’s operational framework. Why is uncertainty in health service planning high? There are many reasons for which uncertainty in the health services sector has been highly increased. At a first level, no integrate framework exists in regard to the strategic planning process, as related to the healthcare sector. Certain rules referring to health service planning have been introduced, but they are not standardized, being differentiated according to a series of factors (Booyens 2008). Moreover, the needs of the industry have been highly increased, as a result of the increase of global population (Booyens 2008). The monitoring on the industry’s activities is not appropriate, a fact that leads to a series of failures in regard to the plans developed in healthcare units of all sizes (Booyens 2008). In the same context, the requirements for staff in the above industry have been increased (Harris 2005). Often, the individuals hired in various positions of the healthcare sector are not appropriately skilled, a fact that has been related to severe damages on the health of patients, apart from other implications for the industry’s performance (Harris 2005). In any case, the healthcare sector is quite complex. The success of the industry’s plans is depended not only on individuals, as patients, but also on the social and economic conditions of the country involved (Harris 2005). This means that the industry’s failures can be interpreted differently in countries worldwide, based on the issues mentioned above. The following fact should be also highlighted: health care practitioners are not familiar with organizational planning, as a common element of organizations worldwide (Abel 1996). Rather, the industry’s practitioners tend to focus on the appropriateness of the treatment provided to patients and do not emphasize on other aspects of the healthcare sector, such as cost management or marketing (Abel 1996). In the long term, this trend has caused severe operational problems to healthcare units, affecting the quality of services provided to the customers/ patient (Abel 1996). . How could uncertainty in health service planning be effectively controlled? The effective control of uncertainty in health service planning would be achieved if the following rules would be followed: a) a common framework for managing risk in regard all the sector’s activities, including the planning process, would be introduced; the standards of quality in regard to the health service planning process would be an important initiative for achieving the above target (Booyens 2008); b) the rules of professional conduct of health service planners should be updated, being aligned with the similar rules used in other sectors, as for example in the financial services industry (Booyens 2008); c) emphasis should be given on the training of the industry’s strategic planners, so that they are able to understand the industry’s challenges but also the requirements of strategic planning, as a core organizational process (Booyens 2008); d) the individuals that would be involved in the health services planning process should be appropriately skilled so that they are able to identify plans that are appropriate for addressing the actual needs of a particular health services institution (Harris 2005). A plan for reducing uncertainty in health service planning At this point, a plan could be suggested for reducing uncertainty in the health service planning. The plan would be based on a series of studies published in the academic literature related to the specific sector: a) primarily, the culture of the organization should be taken into consideration (Yrjo-Koskinen et al. 2010), so that the chances for success of the plan are high, b) the governance style of the organization should be also reviewed. In this phase of the plan, effort should be made so that the plan would be aligned with the organization’s existing style of governance but also with the organization’s other strategies (VHA Conference 2010, Baker et al. 2010); c) the needs of the organization’s patients would be reviewed and evaluated, at the level that they could be effectively addressed through a particular organizational plan (Santacruz-Varela et al. 2010); in this context, the risks related to the organization’s patients should be also identified and assessed, aiming to secure that the plan chosen would not contribute in the increase of these risks (Santacruz-Varela et al. 2010); d) the potential need for a monitoring mechanism in regard to the plan suggested should be also checked; this mechanism should be appropriately customized, according to the organization’s culture and governance, as explained above, but also to its resources (Briner et al. 2010); e) the alignment of the plan with the rules of sustainability should be also checked (Shediac-Rizkallah & Bone 1998); f) the availability of suppliers to support the particular plan should be taken into consideration; if the organization’s existing suppliers would not be able to support the plan’s phases, then a research should be developed for identifying new suppliers, under the terms that the organization’s financial status allows such initiative (Mettler & Rohner 2009); g) the expected response of the customers to the suggested plan would be checked using data retrieved from studies developed in this field (Davis 2004); h) the social ethics, as related to the specific plan should be examined and evaluated; these ethics can highly impact the plan’s success, at the level that they could cause the strong opposition of many social groups (Raphael 2003); for this reason, social ethics have, necessarily, to be taken into consideration when developing such initiatives (Raphael 2003). Challenges when trying to control uncertainty in health service planning When trying to control uncertainty it is possible that a series of problems will appear: a) conflicts are likely to appear between employees who are asked to support the particular project; b) each health service plan responds to specific needs of the organization involved; this means that a plan of action that has been already used successfully in a particular health services organization may not be appropriate for another organization operating in the same sector; c) the changes on health service plans is often difficult; the relevant plans are not flexible, for ensuring that they can remain unchanged for a particular period of time; The particular characteristic of health service plans is not necessarily negative; still, this characteristic is important if the case is brought for examination before the local courts (Booyens 2008); d) the health services industry has to face the following challenge: the industry’s demands tend to be continuously increased while the funds available for supporting the industry’s operations have been decreased, as a result of the global crisis (Harper 2002, p.165). In addition, each of the industry’s activities is quite complex, being related to all aspects of an individual’s personal and social life. Conclusion The efforts of health service planners to respond to the challenges of their role are not always successful. A series of factors have been found as being responsible for the failure of health service planners to deliver effective plans. The use of methods that have been already tested in practice could minimize the risks involved. Such methods have been proposed above in order to show that the introduction of effective health service plans is possible but it is necessary that certain terms are met. In any case, it is required that the relevant plans are closely monitored, in regard to all their phases, so that delays and severe failures are avoided. The review of the studies published in this field has revealed that the development of an absolutely successful health service program is rather impossible. 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