U03a1 Project Topic Choice and Rationale - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: TOPIC CHOICE AND RATIONALE Topic Choice and Rationale Submitted by: XXXXX Number: XXXXX of XXXXXX Introduction: The healthcare system of the US is faced with a wide range of unsustainable growth and also high levels of quality gaps. This paper aims at discussing the topic of choice and rationale for choosing the topic. The paper will provide a brief overview of the organization that has been chosen for the study and will also detail the strategic and quality issues that have been faced by the organization.

The Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, 2007, explains, “One of the major reasons why high health care expenditures are not achieving better value is that traditional Fee-for-Service payment rewards piecemeal work and “volume” of services rather than prevention of illness and coordination of care. The more procedures a physician performs, and the higher the value of the procedure, the more the physician is paid” (Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, 2007). The option chosen for this paper is Option B.

The next section will provide an overview of the organisation and the strategic planning issue. Chosen Organization and Strategic Planning Issue: The organization chosen for this study is Tufts Medical Center. The organization deal with providing healthcare for children and is a well recognized organization with a ranking within the top five percent of the institutions nationwide (Tufts Medical Center). The organization has been able to provide the customers with excellent care over the years.

The strategic issue that is present in the organization is the lack of a good record keeping process for the employee injuries on the job. The organization’s strategy in a number of ways lacks a strong plan for the employees and care of the employees. This is clear from the recent news which reads, “The Nurses Association distributed a press release several weeks ago saying the hospital showed a lack of concern for the health and safety of its workers. The union also picketed the hospital earlier this year to protest changes in nurses staffing patterns” ( Altman & Altman ).

Justifications of Choice:Several theories that have been explained in the past which deal with both human resources as well as the strategic management in the health care industry specifically highlight the need for a safe working environment for the employees and it is by law needed for the organizations to keep complete records of the various employee injuries and on the job issues that might arise. In the case of Tufts Medical Center this has clearly been missed out and the organization has not been able to keep up the records in time and effectively.

As explained by Beta – Research School for Operations Managements and logistics, “In the healthcare domain, explicit process specifications are often missing or not followed in practice. Research in process mining shows how specifications can be constructed from historic logs and conformance of practice to specifications can be analyzed. Process patterns play a role as abstract building blocks for processes, including the role of human performance aspects in process execution” (BETA). This clearly shows the need for a research into the organization and how the organization can be improved specifically in the areas of strategic issues which relate either to the employees or the customers (Mclaughlin and Hays).

Conclusions: Although the research has taken into consideration the payment that Tufts has agreed to pay, there are a number of aspects that need to be considered in the organization. This research will be very helpful in effective management of the organizations and will also help in improved overall working of the organization.ReferencesAltman & Altman . Tufts Medical Center Pays $5K to Settle OSHA Issue . 10 May 2010. 11 May 2010 .BETA. Operations Management in Healthcare. 2010. 11 May 2010 .

Mclaughlin, Daniel B. and Julie M. Hays. Healthcare Operations Management. Health Administration Press, 2008.Tufts Medical Center. Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children Directions. 2010. 12 May 2010 .