The Strategies and Implementations of Health Management - Essay Example

HEALTH MANAGEMENT THE STRATEGIES AND IMPLEMENTATIONS OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT In today’s globally changing environment, a systematic approach is required to manage the changes in health care organizations. The role of managers and leaders to probe the different factors affecting the sustainability of organization along with its commercial value are discussed in the paper. The paper throws light on various strategies that a health care organization can use to improve the quality of its services. The pros and cons of each strategy are discussed. It also elaborates on the impact of changing work environment on various aspects of a health organization. Lastly, it discusses the skills needed for leaders in health organizations. The Strategies and Implementations of Health Management In the words of Eric and Steven, Strategy is defined not as an event but as the roots of the structure of an organization (Steven G. Hillestad, 2004). In health organization, strategies which are relevant to the changing work environment are adopted. There are various strategies to choose from. These could be: 1. Internal Capabilities and Performance 2. Merger and acquisition 3. Repositioning of services Of the three aforementioned strategies, the best one would be improving on internal capabilities and performance. INTERNAL CAPIBILITIES AND PERFORMANCE In the 21st century the future of health organizations is totally dependent on how well they adapt to current changing environment. Because of the rapid growth in population the best approach to strategize health organizations is by improving their internal capabilities and personal performance. A health organization is a service based organization therefore its main strength lies in the quality of its service. The better services they offer the better reputation they command. For this it is important to improve on internal capabilities and performance levels. They should focus on the health organization’s hygiene. Providing the patients with perfect hygiene is very important. The news about infections generated due to unhygienic hospitals has always made it to headlines. Technology has taken over most health organizations today. Thus, it is highly recommended that health organizations are abreast with the latest technology . They are updated with the latest data and the latest equipments for treatment are in place. Technological procedures like MRI, CT scans and other surgeries are expensive. However these procedures should be incorporated as they produce efficient results. Survival today is not only what people look for but the quality of life they are offered along with the opportunity cost (Patrick, 1993). Along with the introduction of technology performance maintenance criteria needs to be practiced. The staff needs to get training sessions to get familiar with the machines before experiencing it on humans. Number of studies carried out in Canada and Israel demonstrate that only 8% of the physicians knew the in-depth knowledge of using the alternative practices on machines. Training preferably improves the applications and effect of biomedicine (Fass, 2001). Inspection of drug storage, supply and usage is very important as drugs are the fuel to effective health care. And lastly ,appropriate designations of the jobs, with qualified doctors and surgeons with a supporting and patient staff are also important. Providing the patients with correct diagnosis and health atmosphere should form the epic center of the health organization’s strategy. AQUSISITIONS AND MERGERS VS REPOSITIONING THE SERVICES Most health care organizations today are underfunded and over burdened and tend to seek mergers and acquisitions to gain stability. However this is not the best option. Repositioning of services is a better option as they are eventually the services which give the hospital its competitive edge. For instance Carolinas Healthcare System (CHS), once a public hospital, is now a broad system under the administration of Charlotte/ Mecklenburg Hospital Authority. It is known as fourth largest hospital in America with better facilities like better physician networks and numerous well equipped nursing homes (Linda E. Swayne, Strategic management of health care organizations, 2006). It is also easy to reposition products and services in such conditions. To modify the service’s market place is to find new consumers, markets or sustaining the existing consumers. As a case, HMO could be used as it focuses on the union and their families. It can improve by repositioning its services and by widening its target groups and offering services to younger, poorer and older groups (Winston, 1985). As mentioned before the need of technology in this sector is essential, therefore continuous investments are required by the organization. To run a better hygienic organization with a well trained organization is not a cheap job to handle. Research shows that changing technology in medicine indicates an increase in spending in this sector . This means that guidance is required on appropriate usage of technology. For most of their part the managers do not acknowledge the innate fact owing to trade-offs between the cost of health and access to health. (Ginsburg, 2004).On the basis of arguments given it is recommended to the managers to first improve the internal capabilities and performance instead of opting for mergers for further expansion because if the organization isn’t good at the service it is providing then it can’t do well for a long time under a fancy name. We need to define a strategy other than this to accelerate the growth of health care organizations. Along with the better internal integration there are several other aspects that the manager needs to lend his eye on for instance, the cost containment factor. IMPLICATIONS FOR BETTER HEALTH CARE DELIVERY There have been various implications on health care delivery due to changes in the 21st century. Some of them are discussed here: COST CONTAINMENT It’s a fact that expansion and cost coverage are inseparable. With growing population and rise in diseases operating expenses for health organizations have risen. Cost containment is becoming difficult. Advancements in technology, utilities, staff and supplier costs, patient expenses, expensive staff and personal benefit plans have risen over all expenditure. A study conducted in May 2004 recommends that the implementation initiative reforms and policies like HCFMs and NEs . They are an effective way of reducing the growing cost in health care organizations. (Research, May 2007). The real test for the leaders and managers of health care organization is to provide the finest care along with best clinical outcomes at minimum costs. (Berger, 2002). In the research conducted in 2007 it was demonstrated that 50% of HCFMs and 50% of NEs felt that cutting down on numerous drug therapies wasn’t an effective cost containment strategy. This is because once new drugs are made their marketing could be a tough job to handle. (Research, May 2007) A long term strategy needs to be developed to guide the health organizations to maximize the revenue and minimize cost causing no effect on the performances and care for patients. SOCIAL NORMS An application of repositioning the services could be changing the social norms of the organization. In 21st century maintenance of new norms through social networking is highly important. In order to conduct awareness and medical programs it is important to choose the suitable medium of delivery. Managers need to focus on their audiences and their understanding caliper. The research conducted by Sherman, Sutcliffe, Srirojn , Latkin and Aramratanna (Sherman, 2009) was on communication training program regarding safe sex and harm in drug usage in Thailand. The aim was to expand awareness among the peers and the workers. The results showed that the youth after hearing the combined norm information were more comfortable in sharing the information with friends and peers. This strategy needs to be seeded in present so that it fruits well in future. DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS Quite a few demographic factors have become barriers for improvement in health care organizations. A data collected by the US census shows that by the year 2030 four out of every ten American would consider themselves to be a part of a racial or an ethnic group. (Bruno, 2007). According to another research 34% of the total US population comprises of 6% of the nation’s physicians, 9% of its nurses and 5% of dentists. 20 different languages are encountered by the staff and patients with in one health care organization The Bureau of Labor Statistics in U.S. shows that 40% of the current working force is considering retirement which leaves it with a dearth of skilled graduates . (Hernandez, Strategic Human Resources Management in Health Services Organizations, 2010) The consistent growth of women employed in the work force of health care is another demographic factor that needs to be taken care of. A research shows that women and minorities make up 60% of the work force in health care. (Hernandez, Strategic Human Resources Management in Health Services Organizations, 1999). As health organizations continue to employ more women, a new approach to management would be required to motivate them. Various factors need to be kept into perspective for instance, providing them with benefits and leniency. Research shows that women primarily work because of their economic needs; most of them are either married or working mothers. As a matter of fact according to Hoffman’s (Hoffman, 1989) examination, 71% of mothers in two- parent families have full time employment. If health organizations are to encourage the incorporation of women in their work force they need to take measures against the discrimination of women. Another very dominant demographic factor includes looking after minorities and immigrants. They are also a part of the workforce of health organization. Of 600,000 immigrants each year , 26% occupy jobs nationwide which shows the dominance of this group. (Fernendez, 1991). It is important for the health care to have a staff which is diverse. If health care organizations have to integrate these people to improve their performances and presentations as an organization, they will have to train and educate them to provide them with an equal chance of merit to contribute to the revenue and reputation of the organization. CHANGING ROLES OF PHYSICIANS It’s a clear cut fact that surgeons and physicians are the true leaders of health care organizations . Given the rising demands of this century, physicians are entrusted with a lot of multitasking. They have to have the capability of taking effective decisions and skills like influential communication negotiations and conflict resolving. A proposal was made by Susan (O’Hare, 2010) to recruit the mid-level providers directly from schools, train and assess them and then select them on the basis of merit.. ORGANIZATION CULTURE To implement all these strategies the organization need to instill a proper culture to diffuse the change brought by it. The managers need to plan and execute the involvement of community. Acceptance of values such as ethics and spiritual influence they can turn the tables their way. (Linda E. Swayne, Strategic management of health care organizations, 2006). Organizations whose strategies match with the cultures are likely to go a long way then those whose strategies clash with the culture (Bourgeois, 1982). In recent times medical research has rapidly increased. However the findings and diagnosis have found no worth in the literature of medicine. Lomas and Haynnes explained this by telling that a sound research actually promotes health care without any gap. He says there is a fine difference between the knowledge in general and the actual practitioners of health care. It has been proven by a research that relying on proper diffusion of information to keep health professionals updated is to condemn the failure in a global environment that is changing constantly. (Richard E. Ashcroft, 1994). One needs to develop a culture where healthcare professionals can practically apply the findings of research. DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY The strength of an organization lies in the quality of its services. In the case of health care what patients need is better care and more efficient procedures in a clean environment. With the development in technology procedures have become more efficient and reliable. Managers therefore need to make a system to achieve the required goals through the strategies plotted on their time line. Through technology the landscape of the entire organization has been completely changed. For instance, it’s observed Canadians have been very adaptive to technological innovation. Countries that do not welcome the change run the risk of lacking behind at least two three generations. Health care today needs to possess a socio technical framework. For instance, in tele-health patients are allowed to get themselves treated by out of town physicians. Major parts of third world countries are rural and are not familiar with the technological progress of these organizations. By doing this, organization expands hypothetically. Technology is a requirement for medical units at every step, be it surgical procedures, gathering information about the patients or doing research, the question is how to make it cost effective? Managers need to design a way such that technology doesn’t cause much disruption due to its cost of purchasing maintenance and consumption by factors. SOCIAL EXPERIMENTATION The most important of all is to find the most suitable way of implementing the changes and factors mentioned above. Managers need a precise framework to turn these interpretations into effective results. Evaluation, estimation and implementation are the basic levels at which social experiments are carried out. The results of this help the managers in locating their resources according to the most cost effective procedures and in yielding maximum health from target budget. (Jerry A. Hausman, 1985). MANAGEMENT SKILLS REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT The most successful and stable of all health organizations will be those who possess managers who have the skills necessary to sustain health care management. They need to be efficient and decisive. In order to take decisions in health care organization leaders need to understand the clinical perspectives and requirements. As mentioned before, tomorrow’s leaders should be not only from different academic backgrounds but should also be from different races, genders and culture. This will help develop a healthy relation between the staff and patients. Managers should have adaptive skills so that they are able to adapt themselves to the changes that their organization goes through. The leader himself should encourage an innovative culture within the organization; it plunders the risk taking thinking and management. As a health care leader he should be good at communication and negotiation. He should posses the skill needed to convince people to adapt to changes. The leader should be well aware of the statistics of his organization, that is, the cost per unit of the services with respect to the supplies. He should be updated with the expiry dates of the drugs and utilities to make sure the organization keeps running effectively. A focus on quality improvement and error education should be diffused in the organization. He should posses the skills of team management. He himself should be influential and sincere to his job. Health organizations basically are driven by the patients, people suffering from different diseases and illness. The organization’s basic agenda is to serve the public. Revenue and profits are only secondary endeavors. The most important thing that I learnt through this course was learning how to work in teams, how to become more adaptable to changing environment and how to produce best results with minimum cost. The course will help me in help me come out of critical situations in future in health care management. The literature that I got to learn through this course will be invaluable for any future reference. Bibliography Berger, S. (2002). Fundamentals of Health Care Financial Management. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Bourgeois, J. &. (1982). The American Psychiatric Publishing Board Review Guide for Psychiatry. Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishers. Bruno, S. a. (2007, july). A systems approach to culturally and linguistically competent care. Journal of Healthcare Management . Fass, N. (2001). Integrating complementary medicine into health systems. Maryland: Aspen Publications. Fernendez, E. (1991). Health care and immigration. A Guide for Helping Profession , 97-121. Ginsburg, P. B. 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