Mayo Clinic in Minnesota SWOT Analysis - Research Paper Example

Uninsured Final Uninsured Final Mayo Clinic is a medical group, which is situated in Rochester, Minnesota. It is a medical group providing adequate diagnosis and healing services to patients with the assistance of medical along with surgical specialists. The staffs of this clinic are trained with advanced and innovative programs in relation to medical researches and education, so that patients are offered with appropriate care along with treatment. It is regarded as a non-profit healthcare service provider in the region. There are around 61,100 personnel associated with this clinic. The clinic ensures that the patients are offered with best current medical practices along with greater quality care and treatment services. It has been apparently viewed that the core values of the clinic are patient care, education and research. Specially mentioning, the clinic is recognised as one of the best hospitals operating in the United States of America (US) (Mayo Clinic, 2012). The research paper intends to discuss about the demographic information of Minnesota, on which Mayo Clinic is situated and will also reveal a SWOT analysis. Moreover, the research would also focus upon identifying the stakeholders and determining the strategies for gaining the commitment of the clinic towards delivering quality healthcare service to the patients. Besides, a viable solution towards providing care to all people, while making the hospital profitable will also be depicted in the research paper. Demographic Information of Minnesota Minnesota is a state of the US and it is located in the bank of Zumbro River. The population of the state is around 5,379,139. The population of the state comprises mostly of white people. The population also entail Black or African American and Asian among other racial groups. Additionally, the state mainly comprises Non-Hispanic and Latino groups. The people residing in the state are mainly households or families. The poverty rate in the state can be noted as quiet low due to the existence of numerous industries, being the healthcare industry to be a potential one (United States Census Bureau, 2012). Mayo Clinic is recognised to be a leading employer in the respective field, aiding in improving the employment rate of the state by a certain degree. Moreover, the presence of the clinic has assisted towards developing the economic conditions of the state through raising the profitability of the restaurants, hotels along with the retail stores due to increased level of patients visit to the clinic with diverse health problems (Advameg, Inc., 2009). Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis Strengths Mayo Clinic has devised policies and researches with the objective of meeting the treatment along with the medical needs of patients in an appropriate manner. The clinic operates as a leader in protecting the medical information of patients. The clinic performs various operational functions with its primary objective of meeting the needs of patients. In this regard, the clinic operates with respect, integrity, teamwork, compassion and innovatively among others. The clinic has medical specialists along with surgical specialists aiding in providing better care and treatment services. Additionally, the clinic often involves in conducting adequate researches in the field of medical sciences for providing better treatment services in accordance with current practices (Henjum et al., 2010). Weaknesses The major weakness of Mayo Clinic is that the clinic operates in a non-profitable manner, which can be regarded as one of the prime factors accountable for its financial weakness. The size of the clinic also acts a barrier in expanding its operations. Moreover, the legal procedure of the state is often noted to be a complicated one, which acts as a hindrance in the operational procedures of the clinic (Henjum et al., 2010). Opportunities The demographic conditions of the state i.e. Minnesota clearly imply that the clinic possesses the opportunity of employing better educated individuals. The transport system of the state is viewed to be quiet efficient, facilitating in developing better connectivity with other states of the US. In this regard, patients from different regions of the US can obtain better care and treatment services from the clinic (Henjum et al., 2010). Threats The state is mainly based on three industrial sectors that include healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture. In this regard, financial downturn or slowdown and recession period are certain threats for the clinic, as these might affect the operations of the clinic at large (Henjum et al., 2010). Stakeholders and Strategy to Gain Commitment Mayo Clinic has been providing treatment along with care services to patients as a leading healthcare facility in the US. The stakeholders of the clinic generally comprise patients, healthcare service providers, families, communities and others associated with it. The clinic has developed appropriate strategies including mission and core values on the basis of which the operations of the clinic are executed, ensuring all-round health progress of the individuals. The internal stakeholders of the clinic typically comprise medical staffs and other individuals associated with its operations. The internal stakeholders are offered with better educational along with training facilities that assists them towards improving their knowledge in relation to current medical practices. Conversely, the external stakeholders of the clinic comprise government, community and businesses that are integrated with its operations. These stakeholders of the clinic will be facilitated with the opportunity of better employment, as the clinic is identified to be a leading employer in the region. Moreover, the clinic is also viewed to be associated with different commitments made towards the community. The clinic seeks that children of the community are facilitated with better educational services. Moreover, the people of the community are also provided with effective health need programs with the intention of developing a better healthier community (Korsmo & Kelly, 2010). In this regard, the stakeholders for their better development are required to be committed with following the norms along with the policies that frame by the clinic. It is worth mentioning that the health policies of the clinic have been inclined towards patient-centred approach with the aim of providing better care and treatment services to all people even to the uninsured people. The stakeholders of the clinic including government officials, insurers, employers and patients are required to work in a collaborative manner in order to formulate quality along with affordable care and treatment plan. The health care system of the US has signified that there are millions of people who are uninsured. Moreover, certain portion of these people are not provided with adequate and appropriate medical care services, which eventually leads towards death. In this respect, Mayo Clinic has devised patient-centred reforms, so that patients are offered with quality and affordable care services. The stakeholders developed consensus-driven principles in order to ensure that the healthcare reforms are executed appropriately. Respectively, these principles have been based on four major factors that include create value, coordinate care, reform the payment system and provide healthcare insurance to all people. Contextually, the stakeholders are required to play an imperative role in order to accomplish the desired aims of the clinic in an appropriate manner (Korsmo & Kelly, 2010). Impact of Identified Policies on Community Health The healthcare policies that have been developed by Mayo Clinic assisted in meeting the needs of the patients in relation to care along with treatment. Besides, the clinic has also developed different effective policies that supported in developing social, economic along with environment health of the community. The clinic conducts thorough research so that better care and treatment are facilitated to patients on the basis of evidence based approaches. The identified policies will eventually facilitate in developing the social conditions by offering affordable along with high quality care in an effective manner. The current health reforms will also facilitate in covering maximum number of people in the US under health insurance coverage. It can be affirmed that the clinic is regarded as one of the major employers in the region and in this regard, the development of its healthcare system will provide better employment opportunities to the people. It is worth mentioning that the identified policies will facilitate the clinic to perform its operations with better consideration towards environment especially in relation to the procedure of supply chain, energy usage and waste management (McCarthy et al., 2009). A Strategy to Improve the Long-Term Success of Health Care Policies In order to enhance the long-term success of healthcare policies, Mayo Clinic ought to develop an effective strategy, ensuring that the individuals or the people belonging to the state are able to avail quality along with affordable healthcare facilities. In this regard, the health care policies should be based on patient-centred strategy. The patient-centred approach is a process of developing effective care and treatment models along with services in accordance with the needs of the patients and the demands of their families. In this respect, the healthcare policies with the assistance of patient-centred approach will facilitate Mayo Clinic in providing better care and treatment services based upon the requirements along with the preferences of the patients. Moreover, the clinical decisions will be formulated according to the values of the patients (ACSQHC, 2013). A Viable Solution to Provide Care to All People While Making the Hospital Profitable One of the viable solutions towards providing care to all people while making the hospital profitable can be meeting the needs along with the preferences of all the people belonging to diverse communities of the state. According to the report published by the Census Bureau, it can be viewed that the rate of uninsured people has been declined, but the number of the same is still in millions. In this regard, the most appropriate solution to provide care and treatment services to all the people will be to increase insurance coverage. The health insurance plans should cover the individuals of every age, especially the youths who are mostly identified as uninsured ones (United States Census Bureau, 2011). In this manner, people with health insurance coverage will be able to obtain adequate care and treatment in an affordable cost. Additionally, the insured people are required to pay a fixed amount irrespective of cost, which has been incurred from the care and the treatment offered to an individual (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). In this regard, the clinic is a non-profit medical group and respectively, it will be facilitated with the opportunity of ensuring that effective care and treatment facilities are offered to every people. Contextually, the clinic offering treatment services to increased number of people will generate more profits and will also assist in developing the health of the community at large. Potential Evaluation Strategies to Ascertain Effectiveness Mayo Clinic, in order to ascertain its effectiveness in providing adequate treatment and care services to the patients, it should adopt different evaluation strategies. These strategies have been briefed hereunder. Health Assessment Program The clinic requires to adopt a health assessment program on the basis of which the health of the people of the community will be examined and accordingly, it will be able to provide quality medical treatment and care services to them (WHO, 2012). Engage Stakeholders The stakeholders of the clinic should be engaged in the evaluation program concerning the aspect of community health. Through this engagement, the stakeholders will assist in having better consensual understanding about the program and provide appropriate measures on the basis of which health information will be collected and evaluated (CDC, n.d.). Systematic Procedure and Evidence-based Practices The evaluation program should be conducted in a systematic procedure in order to ensure that the information has been collected and evaluated in an appropriate manner. In this context, evidence-based practices should be applied in order to ensure that the collected data are evaluated suitably and effective measures can be applied to improve health conditions (Rychetnik et al., 2002). Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be comprehended that Mayo Clinic is one of the renowned medical groups and foremost care along with treatment providers, which is operating in the state of Minnesota, US. On the basis of SWOT analysis, it can be ascertained that the clinic is offered with better opportunities for future growth along with development due to its evidence-based medical services and coverage. It can be affirmed that the people of the US should be covered under insurance coverage, so that they can avail effective care and treatment services. In this regard, a patient-centred approach should be introduced for developing health policies in accordance with the needs of the patients. The health policies that would be implemented are required to be evaluated in an effective manner with the objective of improving overall health conditions in the state. References ACSQHC. (2013). Patient-centred care: improving quality and safety by focusing care on patients and consumers. Retrieved from http://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/PCCC-DiscussPaper.pdf Advameg, Inc. (2009) Rochester: economy. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Rochester-Economy.html CDC. (n.d.). Step 1: Engage stakeholders. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/program-planner/step1.pdf Henjum, C., Schmit, M., Schuller, J., & Schwietz, J. (2010). The Rochester, Minnesota health services cluster. Retrieved from http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/slp/economic_development/pdf/RochesterMNHealthSvcsCluster-2010.pdf Korsmo, J. O., & Kelly, B. (2010). A perspective on current health reform issues from Mayo clinic. Retrieved from http://www.minnpost.com/infodoc/2010/01/perspective-current-health-reform-issues-mayo-clinic McCarthy, D., Mueller, K., & Wrenn, J. (2009). Mayo clinic: multidisciplinary teamwork, physician-led governance, and patient-centered culture drive world-class health care. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Case%20Study/2009/Aug/1306_McCarthy_Mayo_case%20study.pdf Mayo Clinic. (2012). Mayo Clinic 2012 annual report. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/mcitems/mc0700-mc0799/mc0710-2012.pdf Rychetnik, L., Frommer, M., Hawe, P., & Shiell, A. (2002). Criteria for evaluating evidence on public health interventions. Journal of Epidemiol Community Health 56, 119–127. United States Census Bureau. (2012). Minnesota. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/27000.html United States Census Bureau. (2011). Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2010. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb11-157.html U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2013). Definitions of health insurance terms. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/sp/healthterms.pdf WHO. (2012). Health education: theoretical concepts, effective strategies and core competencies. Retrieved from http://applications.emro.who.int/dsaf/EMRPUB_2012_EN_1362.pdf Read More