The effectiveness of delivery of healthcare is determined to a great extent by the nature of relationships among practitioners. For healthcare delivery to be effective and efficient, practitioners must pull in the same direction (Unutzer et al., 2013). There are some forces that make it difficult for practitioners to work together. Disagreements and conflicts are among these. When practitioners do not read from the same page or are involved in conflicts, patient outcomes suffer. The case of St. Clare Hospital makes this clear. The hospital wishes to implement cost-reduction measures. One of these measures involves outsourcing image readings and terminating the radiologist. After implementing this measure, it was noted that the image readings are inaccurate and the physicians at the facility are upset. While the measures have allowed the facility to lower costs substantially, they have also exposed the hospital to the risk of legal liability. St. Clare Hospital is the subject of this paper. The paper explores the types of conflicts in the cases of the hospital and offers recommendations for addressing the conflicts.
Types of conflicts
There are a number of conflict types that are commonly witnessed in organizations. Some of these conflict types are evident in the case of St. Clare Hospital. Intra-personal conflict is one of these types. The main feature of this conflict type is that an individual’s goals are not in line with the mission and objectives of their organization (Rahim, 2010). The physicians demonstrate this conflict. It is noted that the physicians have refused to collaborate with CEO James Edward to make the hospital viable. The physicians clearly do not share the hospital’s objective of lowering costs. There also appears to be a conflict between James and the organization. James seems to not understand the important role that the physicians play in driving the hospital towards growth. He places himself on a collision path with the physicians to the detriment of the hospital. It can be argued that the objectives that he pursues do not correspond to the aims of the hospital.
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Inter-personal is the other type of conflict that can be seen in the case of St. Clare Hospital. Inter-personal conflict involves disagreements that pit an individual against another (Rahim, 2010). Left unmanaged, interpersonal conflicts can turn ugly. It is advised that this type of conflict should be addressed in good time. CEO James is involved in an inter-personal conflict with the physicians. This conflict revolves around how to move the hospital forward. James is convinced that progress can only be achieved through cost-cutting. The cost-cutting measures that he implements leave the physicians upset. There also appears to be an interpersonal conflict between James and Dr. Harris who serves as the radiologist. It is mentioned that James wishes to fire Harris. No reason is given so it can be assumed that James is inspired by personal and baseless motives. This type of inter-personal conflict can be damaging. It can impair the proper functioning of the hospital, thereby impeding the effective delivery of medical services.
Conflict management styles
As one examines the case of St. Clare Hospital, they are able to identify a number of conflict management styles that are used. Different conflict management styles are applied to different situations. For the style to be effective, it must address the root cause of the conflict. The competing style is the main method that is used to resolve the conflict in the hospital. Essentially, the competing style involves one party being assertive and insisting on their own agenda (Schermerhorn, 2010). This individual refuses to consider the interests or welfare of the other party. This style results in a win-lose outcome. James applies the competing style. To resolve the conflict between himself and the physicians, he imposes the measures mentioned earlier. He outsources the image readings and fires Dr. Harris. He does this without any consideration for the interest of the physicians who are key actors in the conflict. While James manages to lower costs, his use of the competing style leaves the physicians upset and exposes the hospital to legal liability. It is clear that the application of this style was unwise.
The compromising style of resolving conflicts is also used in the hospital. This style creates a lose-lose situation where none of the parties manages to have their demands met (Schermerhorn, 2010). On one hand, James wished to ensure the viability of the hospital. On the other hand, the physicians wanted the status quo to be maintained. After the implementation of the cost-cutting measures, the conflict had not been fully resolved and the hospital was plunged into a crisis. It is true that the costs incurred by the hospital have reduced. However, this has occurred at the expense of the satisfaction of the physicians and accuracies in the image readings. The compromising style clearly failed to achieve an outcome that serves the interest of the hospital.
Conflict resolution strategy
From the discussion above, one can gather that none of the conflict resolution styles used were effective. The hospital needs to adopt a new strategy for addressing the conflicts that it is witnessing. It is advised that the hospital should adopt the collaborating style. This style involves the parties pursuing shared interests and abandoning hardline positions (Schermerhorn, 2010). Dialogue and consultative negotiations are the defining features of the collaborating style. The parties actively seek a solution that delivers benefits to each side. The key to implementing this strategy lies in creating a novel solution. The solution should ensure that the demands of both parties are met. It is recommended that instead of bringing in outsiders, James should sit down with the physicians. He should allow the physicians to propose methods that they believe will help the hospital to lower costs and improve service delivery. James should also be involved in the process by stipulating guidelines and reminding the physicians of the primary vision of the hospital. It is predicted with confidence that this strategy will resolve the conflict while cementing the bonds between James and the physicians.
Strategies for reducing cost and liability
The measures that James has implemented have reduced the costs but opened up the hospital to the risk of legal liability. There are different strategies that can be implemented to lower the costs and shield the hospital from legal liability. One of these strategies is eliminating waste. Waste is among the biggest challenges faced by medical facilities (Herman, 2014). Huge amounts are lost as these facilities fail to optimally allocate resources. James needs to join hands with the physicians to identify areas where wastage occurs. It could be that the hospital lets medicines expire. It could also be that the physicians administer treatment that is necessary. Whatever the sources of waste, the hospital must take action to enhance efficiency and minimize waste. In addition to reducing costs, eliminating waste will also ensure that the hospital does not face any legal liability. Embracing technology is another strategy that the hospital should implement as it seeks to lower costs and reduce liability. It has been shown that the integration of modern technologies enables medical facilities to substantially lower the costs that they incur (Lee & Davies, 2013). Technology also allows the facilities to improve service delivery and patient outcomes. As it adopts modern technology, St. Clare Hospital will be able to improve service quality thereby eliminating the threat of legal liability while simultaneously lowering the costs.
In conclusion, St. Clare represents many hospitals that grapple with conflicts. Conflicts have a damaging effect on service delivery. It is therefore important that all necessary actions should be taken to resolve conflicts. It is even more important to implement the appropriate conflict resolution strategies. Instead of bullying and strong-arm techniques, hospitals should embrace dialogue and strive to build consensus. This will result in outcomes that please all concerned parties.
References
Herman, B. (2014). 9 Drivers of High Healthcare Costs in the US. Retrieved 18th May 2017
From http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/9-drivers-of-high-healthcare-costs-in-the-u-s.html
Lee, R. & Davies, G. (2013). Technology: The Cure for Rising Healthcare Costs? Retrieved
18th May 2017 from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/518946/technology-the-cure-for-rising-healthcare-costs/
Rahim, M. A. (2010). Managing Conflict in Organizations. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction
Publishers.
Schermerhorn, J. R. (2010). Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Unutzer, J., Harbin, H., Schoenbaum, M. & Druss, B. (2013). The Collaborative Care Model:
An Approach for Integrating Physical and Mental Health Care in Medicaid Health
Homes. Retrieved 18th May 2017 from http://www.chcs.org/media/HH_IRC_Collaborative_Care_Model__052113_2.pdf
