Change Management for Quality Healthcare Delivery - Research Paper Example

Change Management for Quality Healthcare Delivery The healthcare system today is very different and complex from what it used to be in the past. This change has led to a more managed care delivery. This paper reviews management styles in relation to the new changes happening now and the new vision of management, reducing cost, better service, doing more with less. In addition, leadership styles, motivation and management and strategic alliances. The paper will also show how improvement management helps in the delivery of healthcare. Introduction Healthcare delivery is changing at a rapid pace as most of its practices strive to ensure quality, accessible and cost effective medical care. Change has led to new policy and regulatory requirements and, new models of care delivery. The dramatic change in healthcare has also led to change in management styles within Medicare. Some support this change, others are different to it, and some also participate in it. Change is inevitable, challenging, complex, and dynamic thus healthcare seniors must learn how to handle the complexities that come with the changing process. Change would be relevant and worthwhile if both people oriented and technological solutions are used to plan, evaluate, and implement strategies, tactics, and operations within healthcare delivery (Campbell, 2008). In most cases, change in healthcare occurs in an unpredictable manner thus responding to it effectively becomes difficult and stressful for care providers and their respective staffs. Effective change is achieved when old behaviors are unfreezed, new ones are introduced, and then they are re-freezed. To ensure efficient healthcare delivery, the healthcare practices must be able to change, adapt, and also evolve to the changing process by use of effective managing styles (Lorenzi & Riley, 2000). The following management styles are essential for healthcare delivery efficiency. Management Vision The senior healthcare providers should have vision and must be committed to provide healthy outcomes. Effective delivery starts from how symptoms are described and diagnosed, to how best care and treatment is offered, through to quality outcomes. Envisioned managers ensures optimal healthcare that in turn depends on quality and constant information and insight, and are committed to achieve their visions. For healthcare organizations to achieve success in care delivery, they need to have effective frameworks in place to deal with change and other issues that might accompany management change. A clear vision offers the direction of change and helps in monitoring and evaluating change process outcomes and helps to determine whether the change process has fulfilled the goals and objectives of the healthcare organization. According to Raineri (2011), there are emerging issues that occur due to change, and it is the responsibility of the change agents to focus and record them for quality modification. Modification of emerging issues assists new providers to design appropriate solutions for future changes. Not only does vision provide meaning for the present, but also provide meaning for the future, therefore encouraging and empowering healthcare providers and staffs to implement change. Cost Reduction Healthcare changes are important if they are cost effective, of quality, and safe. Recently, healthcare costs are rising at a high rate. The significant factor that has led to rising costs is the transition of health care management that was tight to a more loose healthcare management. Pressure has been exerted on the healthcare sector all over the world to control the rising cost and at the same time improve the care provided to their clients. In absence of effective mechanism of analyzing financial issues hospitals experiences problems in healthcare management operations (Baker et al., 2008). Integrating and improving healthcare quality for optimal financial and clinical outcomes and optimization of real time performance becomes a challenge (Baker et al., 2008). Different strategies have been used to solve this problem of increased healthcare costs. These strategies include use of various capitation schemes of the provider, formation of hospital physician organizations, and private insurers given negotiable discounts (Stanton, n.d). Other cost sharing strategies have also been used. Moreover, health policy makers have launched abuse and fraud investigations of care programs, motivated people to enroll in plans related to managed care, and have also, allowed hospitals that deal with inpatients to contract under Medicaid. Furthermore, efforts to slow the rate of growth of Medicare cost have been practiced by ensuring that hospitals, care providers, nursing home providers, and health plans slow the payment increase. Employers in the private sectors have also restructured their contribution formulas and benefit packages, and urged their employees to embrace managed care plans. Some of these strategies reduce costs while others lead to mixed results. Doing more with less Time consuming, tough, expensive to do, rigorous practices in healthcare delivery, when combined with manufacturing techniques that are lean, can lead to reduction in costs. Things that are done and are not of help to the hospital, patient, and healthcare providers and staffs should be omitted to drive down unnecessary costs. Use of highly trained staffs that are not expensive is important in reducing cost that in turn leads to efficient delivery of healthcare services, since quality is not tampered with but costs goes down (Riley et al., 2000). Outreach programs designed to improve the patient’s medication compliance, changes the lives of patients, helps a patient to overcome addiction, and get the patients to eat healthy also cut costs. To achieve this, the care providers should ensure that they earn trust from their patients. Trusted relationships lead to effective delivery of care and it works very easily. Determining what health needs turns into medical costs, and what it takes to reduce them, helps the management to develop preventive programs. Preventive programs make a difference in a community thus internal costs are reduced by a high margin since treatment costs are reduced. Leadership styles Due to the complexity in healthcare environment, leaders should work within themselves, within organizations and also within teams. Thus, they need to be flexible to be compatible with this changing environ. Leaders in healthcare have a mandate to work with physicians in a strong manner for healthy outcomes. Buying their practices and hiring them is not enough, they should be actively involved in decision making. They might have new means of finding where costs are, and how those costs can benefit the healthcare organization in the long run. Transparency is very important too and reduces unnecessary costs. Gronn (2002) suggest that patient centered leadership ensures that the needs of the patient come first and creates an environment where various organizations have the freedom to give high standard care in a constant manner. Frontline staffs support must be practiced by leaders to ensure that their only focus is on patient’s care, and they must be provided with resources necessary for high quality care. Due to Unpredictable change in healthcare sector, the healthcare organizations must transform from a culture that is traditionally individualistic to a leadership style that allows distribution, sharing, and one that is adaptive. Leaders and clinical teams in hospitals should not focus on meeting externally imposed targets and standards, but rather focus on putting the needs of their patients first and improve their care. Motivation Helping healthcare workers to be productive regardless of many challenges they face motivates them to work harder thus contributing to quality care. Employees who are highly motivated develop tactics that help them overcome obstacles experienced at the workplace. Thus, healthcare providers and their staffs should be given job expectations that are clear, should be armed with up to date information and skills, and should be provided with appropriate supplies and equipment. In addition, their supervisors should be caring and one who gives constructive feedback. A professional culture promotes teamwork, patient engagement, and continuous improvement (Raineri, 2011). Such cultures motivates their workers by use of factors like self interest, pay, work itself, growth, achievement recognition, advancement, and shared responsibility. Strategic Alliances There is need for healthcare organizations to increase the development of strategic alliances with other organizational and groups. There is a possibility of various interorganizational relationships. Therefore, physicians have a responsibility to develop and implement these strategic alliances as government continues with the efforts to control healthcare costs. There are expectations that physicians would communicate and advocate on behalf of their patients. In turn, coordinated care is achieved through facilitation of these new organizational arrangements. According to Dionne et al., (2008), alliances enhance revenue and reduce cost, enhance power, reduce uncertainty, and allows for risk sharing, thus making the healthcare delivery efficient. Conclusion In summary, management of change is the key concern of healthcare management. Global changes have led to organizational changes, thus a need for these organizations to change accordingly and adapt to these situations. Changes that occur in healthcare system are only important if they ensure safety and improve the quality of care. Various factors like motivation, management styles, leadership styles, strategic alliances, clear management vision, and cost reduction practices are some of effective survival techniques that lead to quality care delivery in the short term and help in planning of future success in the end. Therefore, various healthcare institution should adopt these strategies in order to improve delivery of services and care. References Baker, G.R., MacIntosh, A., Porcellato, C., Dionne, L., & Stelmacovich, K.B. (2008). High Performing Healthcare Systems: Delivering Quality by Design. Toronto, ON: Longwood Publishing. Campbell, R.J. (2008). Change management in Health Care. The Health Care Manager, 27(1), 23-39. Gronn, P. (2002). Distributed Leadership as a Unit of Analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 423–451. Lorenzi, N. M., & Riley, R. T. (2000). Managing Change: An Overview. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 7(2), 116-124. Raineri, A. B. (2011). Change Management Practices: Impact on Perceived Change Results. Journal of Business Research, 64(3), 266-272. Stanton, M. (n.d). Reducing Costs in the Health Care System: Learning from What Has Been. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/costs/costria/index.html. Read More