Many patient disabilities in the United States are due to chronic diseases. One of these chronic diseases is Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). Failure of the heart to supply the essential body organs with enough oxygen and blood leads to congestive heart failure. Based on the data analyzed (Amakali, 2015), in the United States, people who suffer from heart problems are over six million. Analysts estimate that CHF costs the United States a lot of funds approximating to about $34 billion annually (Amakalli, 2015). This paper aims to use evidence-based management practices to establish the best strategies for formulating a budget plan that is aimed at setting up a Heart Failure Clinic that is effective.
Resourcing Healthcare Services
Hospital administrators need to ensure that the welfare of the hospital and the financial security of the hospital are up to the standards that are required. The administrators must pinpoint those factors that if not addressed by the budget plan of the hospital might force the hospital into a financial crisis (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2017). Various categories and subcategories are identified by this business plan required to set up the clinic. They include supplies, capital expenses, labor costs, research and teaching, billing of insurance and liability expenses. A few of these categories are discussed below.
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Supplies and Capital Expenses
A significant amount of the expenditure of the hospital is consumed by supplies. In this instance, the supplies refer to the things that are required to offer medical aid for these patients with CHF. Supplies include drugs, medical equipment, laboratory chemicals and food. The funds necessary to acquire these supplies will be derived from the billings received from the various services that the patients are given. Given that the clinic is at the early set-upstages, the construction process will use a massive amount of capital. Thus, to cater for construction equipment, donations might be necessary in future.
Labor Costs
CDC approximates that about 60% of the expenditures of the hospital are consumed by the wages and benefits of the staff. The labor costs that the hospital incurs from other sources consume about 11% of the hospital expenditures (Amakali, 2015). One assumption is arrived at from the figures above by the American Hospital Association. The assumption is that in any patient care offering business, the principal type of capital that is used on a daily basis is the human capital. Therefore, the clinic has to approximate and provide for all the expenses that will be incurred due to the labor.
Insurance Billing
The billing earned from the services that are offered to the patients is the primary means by which hospitals make their revenue. Therefore, apart from the billing of the clinic coming from the federal government, it will also have to come from the private insurance companies. For the patients who are needy, the hospital will have to transfer the patients to county hospitals nearby or liaise with the health offices of the county.
Contingency Funds/ Liability Costs
Since the hospital exists within a society that respects the rule of law, in case of legal battles, the hospital will have to defend itself. Various mistakes can occur during the process of offering care to the patients, therefore, necessitating the undertaking of contingency measures. It is therefore important for the healthcare clinic to put in place Professional Liability Insurance.
Start-up expenses; The expenses required for the start-up of the clinic will be placed in two categories which are the renovation of the site that will cost about $7000 and secondly expenses required to purchase equipment which will approximately cost $15,000. Therefore, the total expenditure for the start-up is estimated to be $ 22,000 onwards.
The expenses of running the clinic will be divided into two categories: fixed costs and variable costs. The fixed costs will remain unchanged throughout the operation of the clinic. An example of a fixed cost is the cost required for the maintenance of the equipment and facilities. Therefore, to meet these fixed costs, more patients will have to be admitted and treated by the patient (Amakali, 2015). Variable costs are those that keep changing overtime such as the pay of the staff.
Capital Budget Items;
| Volume Assumptions | Total Approximations |
| Staffing/FTE |
Job Class: Nurse Practitioner – 2.0 FTE Registered Nurse – 2.0 FTE Patient Care Technician – 1.0 FTE (phlebotomy trained) Unit Clerk – 1.0 FTE Dietician – 0.0 FTE (rotation) Social Worker – 0.0 FTE (rotation) |
| Salary and benefits |
Job Class: Registered Nurse – $30/ hour Patient Care Technician – $15/ hour Nurse Practitioner – $38/hour Unit Clerk –$13/ hour Dietician – $20/hour Social Worker - $15/hour |
Legal and Professional Standards
Patients should be made aware that adherence to the medical procedures is vita in their recovery and that the decision to exercise this adherence lies with them. The nurse has a responsibility of examining each patient as an individual. The nurse is also expected to involve the patient in the treatment process by advising the patient according to make the patient ready for treatment and self-screening.
Most patients that are not insured are reluctant to visit the doctor due to the expenses (Greenhalgh, Howick & Maskrey, 2014). Clinicians of the clinic should help the patients understand the cost of visiting an office by giving informing the patients on the costs of visiting other offices such as diagnostic radiology, laboratories and pharmaceuticals. The clinicians should also explain to the patients the dangers of missing treatment.
Management and Accountability Tools
For good therapeutic research, it is vital to have clinical data. Some of the tools and resources used in research include patient registries, electronic health records, and data from clinical trials (Greenhalgh, Howick & Maskrey, 2014). Also, for the clinic to be successful and make profits, it will be critical to have efficient billing and collections. Electronic billing is the most efficient method of billing.
Provision of information that is accurate and precise about the costs of various services will have an impact on the decision of the customer to visit the clinic. If the consumers are not able to access such information, then the consumers will not visit the clinic since they will fear being exploited financially during treatment. In many instances, the patients do not know the exact costs of the services they are offered.
References
Amakali K (2015) Clinical Care for the Patient with Heart Failure: A Nursing Care Perspective. Cardiol Pharmacol 4:142. doi: 10.4172/2329-6607.1000142
Greenhalgh, T., Howick, J., & Maskrey, N. (2014). Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis? Bmj , 348 , g3725.
LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (2017). Nursing Research-E-Book: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice . Elsevier Health Sciences.
