The Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations - Assignment Example

Pitney Bowes: Case Questions: Question 1 The decision by Pitney Bowes to devote more money and time in their employee health care system when other players were actually reducing the cost of employee health benefits was guided by the realization that employee health management directly affected the bottom line and the performance of the business (Porter & Baron, 2009). Pitney Bowes believed that when the employees are healthy, there will be less time spend outside work when the employee are out there looking for health care or attending to doctor appointments. Because of this realization, it decided to increase the amount of funds that is allocated for the employee healthcare management with the aim of reducing the overall overhead cost that is incurred when the employee is a ways from work due to health issues. Question 2 At Pitney Bowes, the employee health management strategy is basically made up of four components. The first component is the heavy investment in the employee health management staff. The firm has spent a fortune in the employee management staff (Porter & Baron, 2009). The second component is the use of data to shapes its plan, benefits and programs. The organization relies on healthcare data to be able to come up with plans, benefits and programs which will effectively serve the intended purpose. The third component is the focus on preventive care. Preventing the health related issues is cheaper than curing the conditions. The firm strives to prevent the conditions before they occur. The fourth and final component of this strategy is offering choices and flexibility. This has gone a long way in ensuring the intended goals of the plans are achieved. Question 3 The management at Pitney Bowes has taken an aggressive approach when it comes to health management. The main objective has been the reduction of cost while at the same time improving outcomes (Porter & Baron, 2009). Data over the years appears to show the effectiveness of the strategy that has been used by this firm. It has enabled them to reduce the cost associated with treating employees and also eliminating expenses that are incurred due to absenteeism from work. This has therefore positively added value to the firm (Porter & Baron, 2009). Question 4 As indicated earlier, the health plan selection and plan design are based on four main components which are heavy investment in staff, focus on preventive care, use of data to influence design and flexibility. Pitney Bowes believes that the upfront investment in the analysis of the plan design is much more offset by the overall healthcare cost. It utilizes large health employee management staff coupled with a data driven approach to effectively offer the required and effective health management, design plan (Porter & Baron, 2009). Question 5 When developing their plans that are to be used by the providers, Pitney Bowes ensures that the plans that are developed and the services that are offered by the providers are all in line with the goals of the company of cost reduction, prevention as well as reduced absenteeism due to illnesses (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). The providers therefore have to offer services to the Pitney Bowes employees that are in line with the company missions, objectives and goals. The plans of the providers have to be modeled and structured around these goals. Question 6 In the 2008 strategy one challenge that has to be overcome is the types of benefits that are available for the employees. The management should ensure that it offers additional benefits that cater for the wide range of employees who may have different healthcare needs. Question 7 Employers should not withdraw from the US Healthcare system. The reason is that the health care systems not only give healthcare benefits to employees, but also go a long way in reducing the overall cost in the business (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). Question 8 The employer community can do this by encouraging each other to come up with the best healthcare programs for their employees. Their plans and strategies should be tailor made to fit a specific target group of employees. UCLA: Case Questions: Question 1 The UCLA kidney transplantation program has been changed over the years. This has been in terms of the services that are offered and the treatment approach that has been used in the various transplant programs (Porter et al, 2012). The various players such as the nurses and the urologist have worked together so as to ensure that the transplant are not only successful but that the survival rate is also increased. The hospital and its reimbursement players have also negotiated their contracts regularly to determine which services should include in the bundled package. Generally, if you measure the success in terms of patient survival rate, it is quite clear that the program, has been successful since the number of patients who have survived has increased. Measuring the success in terms of staff satisfaction also indicates that the program has been very successful. In terms of cost, the facility has been able to reduce the cost associated with the transplants and thereby also benefiting the hospital. Question 2 At UCLA the integrated practice unit is the model of care delivery. This involves the working together of a multidisciplinary team in the various procedures. The transplant programs are divided into three phases (Porter et al, 2012).The first phase is the pre transplant phase. The second phase is the transplant phase and the final and third phase is the post transplant phase. In all these three phases, the multidisciplinary team comprising of specialist from different departments work together in order to ensure that the best care is delivered to the patient. This integrated practice unit has ensured that the facility is able to coordinate its services and offer the best care at a lower cost to the patient (Porter et al, 2012). The teams work hand in hand in the different phases with the single objective of providing the best care at the lowest possible cost. Question 3 Initial UCLA had been receiving payments for the transplants separately. All the cost that is associated with the transplant in the pre transplant, transplant and post transplant phases were paid separately. This, however changed when the facility decided to use the bundled payment approach (Porter et al, 2012). The facility settled on this model after careful analysis of the various costs that are associated with the transplant process. In the earlier programs, all the phases were covered and readmission up to 90 days after the surgery was included. After careful analysis of the transplant date, UCLA decided to exclude some of the areas that had initially been covered. On major decision was the exclusion of the pre transplant period. The reason for this was due to the fact that this phase could take up to several years before the transplant was done. The cost of the kidney was however left even though it was to be paid separately. In the bundled reimbursement, it was negotiated that the hospital was to take 80% of the pay while the physicians were to take 20 % (Porter et al, 2012). This reimbursement model has greatly contributed to success in the facility. It has improved the efficiency of the physicians and thereby increasing the quality of service. It has also helped reduce the cost of the transplants. Question 4 The measurement of progress in the kidney program at UCLA is done by collecting and analyzing three types of data. These include the data needed by the UNOS, data required by CMS and the data required by the UCLA (Porter et al, 2012). The data that is required by UCLA for internal use is collected and internally shared among the departments from time to time. This has enabled them to determine the areas where they have improved and the areas that need improvement.It has therefore generally led to increased efficiency and delivery of quality of care. Question 5 One recommendation is that the program should include some part of the pre transplant phase. This will generally ensure that the patients get the best care before the actual transplantation. It will allow for the patient to be closely monitored before the procedure is done. This will in return ensure that the best procedure is chosen for a particular patient. Question 6 The program has had two effects. First of all it has led to the reduction of transplant cost. This has been achieved when the firm and health facilities that have resorted to sing it combine all the important cost consideration and organize for their payment at once. This reduces the expense on those aspects of the services which are not important to the general procedure. Secondly, it has lead better service deliver methods in the healthcare sector. When the various physicians and health workers come to work together, they ensure that they give the best available care using the most affordable method or procedure. This in return increases the quality of services that are delivered at the health care centers. References Ginter, P.M., Duncan, W.J. & Swayne, L.E. (2013).The Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations. New York: Jossey-Bass. Porter, M., Baron, J. (2009). Pitney Bowes: employee strategy. Harvard Business School Porter, M., Baron, J., Chack, J. & Tang, R. (2012).The UCLA medical centre: kidney transplantation. Harvard Business School. Read More