Barnabas Medical Centre - Essay Example

Barnabas Medical Centre 1. The success of this collaborative effort could be attributed to Dr. Tony’s confidence in the achievability of the goal of reducing the time taken in the ED from 24 hours to 6 hours. Additionally, Dr. Tony followed the key strategies in leading the collaborative process by first assessing Barnabas Medical Centre’s ED process, making it clear that the time spent in ED had to be reduced, building trust by incorporating staff from various departments, sharing power and influence with departmental managers and developing people by allowing them to come up with the appropriate decisions to the problem. 2. The power boundary between Dr. Tony, the Associate Chief Medical Officer, and the departmental managers could jeopardise this process, especially if Dr. Tony opted not to cede power to them to come up with a solution to the problem facing BMC. There could also be a conflict between the departmental managers as they sought to establish how each department influences the other. This was overcome through Dr. Tony’s effective relationship and communications management. 3. In this case, leaders encompass all that offered support and facilitation in the process. Dr. Tony exhibited emotional intelligence as a leader, self-motivating and motivating other members of staff towards the realisation of the intended goal and showing social awareness. He shared authority and collaborate knowledge. Departmental managers exhibited their active leadership by engaging in the problem solving process at BMC. 4. The factors that made the collaborative effort successful included Dr. Tony’s effective collaborative leadership and his effective management of communications and relationships. His knowledge of BMC’s ED situation and knowledge and skills on healthcare operations also made the collaborative effort successful. Chapter 9: Case study 2 – Willow Springs Memorial Hospital 1. The leader-followers boundary posed a challenge as the followers (medical staff) could resist the change by their leader, Dr. Till, in adopting the proposed changes. There was also a challenge between the organisation and the government, such that, whereas the hospital management seeks to provide the best services to Willow Springs residents, the government cuts the needed financial aid. 2. Dr. Till is a leader in this case, having ceded his power to the medical staff to allow them to come with effective solutions for Willow Springs residents. He served as a servant leader by supporting and facilitating the workload with the medical staff. The county health department director could also be said to be a leader because as a community collaborator, he participated in the problem solving process, providing the relevant information and analysis. 3. Dr. Till plays a critical role in advising the board and supporting the medical staff towards the realisation of the intended objectives for Willow Springs Memorial Hospital. The board is also expected to support the president in executing this initiative. The medical members of staff also have a role to support the president in leading Willow Springs Memorial Hospital to achieve its vision. There is also the county health department director who should support the hospital by providing the relevant information and analysis of Willow Springs residents. These residents are the customers for the hospital whose needs have to be met. Their failure or success in meeting their roles would determine whether they are a support or barrier to the collaborative effort. Chapter 10: Case Study – The Honeysuckle Clinic 1. Nola Salem is not a transformational leader, but rather a transactional leader. She makes generalisations, not considering the views of part-time employees as being significant. That is why meetings are called within even five-minute notice. A transformational leader would not relieve employees who do not meet their targets of their duties but rather seek to understand their goals. Such a leader would be more focused on employees rather than attracting grant money as Ms. Salem did. There would be more effort geared towards building relationships to avert the conflict such as that observed between nursing practitioners and the other employees. 2. The new leader should have effective communication skills, able to communicate the intended objectives and thus promote understanding with employees. The leader should possess interpersonal skills such that instead of employees having to book appointments, they would be free to interact anytime and share their concerns and input. Finally, this leader should be focused on the organisation’s goals and mission. The questions asked would include what strategies the leader could use to motivate employees, to guide on belief in staff motivation; how to solve a specific conflict in an organisation, to understand the leader’s value for communication and relationships; and who the leader values most in an organisation, to understand the leader’s value for employees. 3. The topics and concerns to be raised include job qualifications and attributes of employees in the clinic. It would also include the mechanisms put in place to collect feedback from staff. Employee turnover and staff training and education would also be critical concerns to bring up. Finally, it would be useful to understand the organisation’s change management strategies. Chapter 12: Case Study – Financial Management 1. There are several critical areas of Amityville’s operations to review. First is its market share within its locality to ensure that it captures a wider market before Serenity sets in. It would also consider its cash collections from the orthopaedic unit to determine if the unit is profitable. Considering the salaries and benefits of its staff members would help prevent their movement to the competitor, Serenity Hospital, as it opens branches near Amityville. 2. Information on its revenue would be compared to the number of its staff to help in making appropriate staffing decisions. The review of staff salaries and benefits against revenue would help in the harmonisation of such compensations. Moreover, the information on the contribution margin by the cardiology unit would help in evaluating the effectiveness of the unit. Finally, the operating margin would help in determining the needed resources. 3. Due to healthcare reform, Amityville could form an independent advisory board on its pricing to advise on how it would make savings in the long run. It could collaborate with Serenity in providing cardiology services to avoid duplication. Lastly, it could enter into a joint venture with Serenity to formally provide cardiology services in the locality thus share in their resources. 4. The community greatly influences Amityville’s strategic planning as it determines the availability of market for the hospital’s cardiology services with their interest in affordability of services influencing Amityville’s pricing strategies. Similarly, Serenity Hospital influences Amityville’s aggressiveness in capturing a wider market share due to the looming competition from Serenity. Being a not-for-profit organisation, it further influences the pricing that Amityville adopts for its cardiology services so as to be competitive in the market. Finally, Serenity influences the strategies for salaries and benefits for Amityville’s staff members as the latter competes to retain its employees. Chapter 13: Case Study – Conflict of Interest or Quality of Patient Care? 1. Since it has been established that there is a conflict of interest, going by the scenario given earlier in the chapter, Dr. Justus and Dr. Richards in conjunction with the Human Resources at Cutting Edge Hospital should reprimand Dr. Smith in writing, clarifying what they expect of him professionally. They should offer him a chance to declare the COI and allow the hospital to recommend practices serving its interests. 2. Physician leaders should seek to consult in the mentorship of leaders in the healthcare industry, be they physicians or not. Such leaders would be critical in bringing in a new breed of leaders with no interests that could conflict with their professional duties. 3. In this case, the behaviour would be deemed as unacceptable and could therefore call for further disciplinary action. This could include loss of privileges given by the Cutting Edge Hospital or even termination. 4. Yes, such data would change the position in question 3. Dr. Smith is expected to act in the best interest of the hospital or patients. In spite of receiving royalties from BoneMedCo products, the products have been proven to be the most superior. Therefore, Dr. Smith could have been acting in the best interest of the patients despite his action causing a COI. 5. Therefore, Drs. Richards and Justus should orally counsel Dr. Smith and issue him with a written reprimand stating the hospital’s expectation that he declares the COI. Dr. Smith should declare the COI and continue using BoneMedCo products to serve patients’ interests. 6. No, COI should not be overlooked. Instead, it should be declared so that the hospital is aware. From this, it would be able to make an informed decision on whether to allow it base on its benefit to the hospital or patients. Chapter 14: Case Study – Conflicts in Governance 1. A fair allocation formula should be one that displays the larger system’s transparency. With this regard, it should show the organisation’s honesty, openness and accountability on allocations. The criteria that could be used include the organisation’s financial contribution to the total income of the region’s health system and the size of its clientele. It could also include the level of the organisation’s need for resources. 2. Medical staff members feel they have a say in how capital is distributed because they are stakeholders who need to monitor the performance of their organisation. With the organisation expected to develop the best practices aimed at improving care, such medical staff members should ensure that the organisation has adequate resources to meet this objective, hence their say in the capital allocated to their organisation. After all, should the organisation fail to perform, they would bear the blame. Hence, ensuring that it has adequate resources to execute its mandate saves these staff members from the blame. 3. In this case, the responsibility of the board is to advance the interests of the stakeholders, specifically the members of the community served by the Noble Regional Medical Centre. Patients make informed decision on the organisation from which they seek medical attention. The board acts as an oversight to ensure that the healthcare provider in its jurisdiction meets the expectations of the patients from the community, including pricing and the level of healthcare provided. Chapter 15: Case Study – Mobile Dental Services 1. In planning the outreach program, information available to St. Mary’s Medical Centre include the problem of dental care for needy children in Evansville, Indiana, which could not be handled with school nurses which jeopardised their learning; challenges faced with Indiana Medicaid dental services; and the opportunity it has to provide the needed solution. The personnel resources available to the medical centre include leaders from schools in the region, school nurses, parents, civic organisations, churches and the area dentists available to work on shifts. 2. These partnerships could be sustained if the leadership at the Medical Centre appreciates the Evansville community as its customer hence seeks to satisfy its needs. The leadership should constantly seek to undertake needs assessment in the community and lead the community towards the intended vision. It should share power with these partners so as to decentralise decision-making and make them share in the organisation’s decisions. Collaboration and negotiation should be fostered rather than imposing of decisions. 3. Indeed, St. Mary’s Medical Centre gains from its outreach endeavour. By reaching out to a market that does not get to the Medical Centre, it markets itself to the community thus increase its clientele. Even though it does not provide dental services, it is able to promote the other line of services it deals with through this endeavour. Since such outreach programmes need financial resources, the Medical Centre gains financially from the funding from its partners or through fundraising, thus enabling it equip itself appropriately for its objectives. Read More