Healthcare services are offered in the context of society. The changing needs and trends in the community have a bearing on how healthcare is offered. This paper examines the major forces affecting the delivery of healthcare. It also evaluates challenges and opportunities available to the healthcare leader as well as the different leasing options available for a healthcare facility.
The cost of healthcare continues to be a major concern to healthcare leaders as well as governments. There are a myriad of dynamics that lead to increased health care costs. The nature and proficiency of labor required to offer health services make it quite expensive. Besides the costly labor, the cost of equipment and facilities required for health care services, make it expensive. There has been intense competition among health facilities, which has manifested in price wars (Goddard, 2015). It is thus the aim of every facility to offer the highest possible quality of care at the most reasonable cost. Insurance companies and government Medicaid has also been doing the best possible to cut on costs. This has resulted in decreased availability of funds for health facilities. Both government and private facilities have tight budgets. Whereas this may look like economic efficiency, it makes it very difficult for quality care to be provided. Infrastructural changes are at a minimum, acquisition of equipment, as well as specialists hiring, have been at an all-time lowest(Roncarolo, Boivin, Denis, Hébert, & Lehoux, 2017).
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Health equipment are integral in the dissipation of quality health care. Diagnostics are highly technology dependent. Like in all facets of technology, there is a rapid change in health care innovations. Equipment becomes obsolete faster than thought (‘Nursing and Implementation of Modern Technology – Signa Vitae’, n.d.). In a competitive environment, the facilities and equipment in a hospital facility form a critical marketing tool. Every leader desires to have the best equipment within their facilities. In some cases, change of equipment has been known to improve outcomes while in other instances it only quickens the process or gives prestige to the facility. In spite of all these, the need to have the best equipment possible cannot be overemphasized. Besides cost and technology, other key factors affecting the delivery of healthcare includes the Physicians supply, socio-economic position of the populace and health status of the population(Dixon-Woods, McNicol, & Martin, 2012).
The problematic environment offers a couple of challenges and opportunities to the healthcare leader. Direction and strategy are continually demanded off the leaders if the facilities are to create any value and generate revenue for the investors. The capital budget process has become an increasingly difficult one. Various decisions which have at times included cost-cutting for multiple departments, laying off of staff and even closure of individual departments within facilities have had to be undertaken. However newer models that make it possible to offer care within this harsh environment have been discovered, these models serve as opportunities for healthcare leaders to achieve their organizational vision despite technological and cash hitches. Leasing of facilities is one such grand opportunity. Leasing involves a contractual agreement where service providers offer certain facilities for pay. This makes it possible for health facilities to be flexible and able to get the best and most affordable technologies per time(Ung & Zeinfeld, 2011).
The lease options are dynamic and can be either operating leases, financing leases or both. Operating leases are also called service leases and apply to virtually every possible equipment from trucks to diagnostic equipment and office equipment. The contractual agreement for service leases allows contractual cancellation when a need arises. This makes it possible for cancellation in case equipment grow too old or new technology appears which enables overcoming of the technological hurdle. Capital leases also called financial leases are not cancellable. They are however an essential saving tool as they are set up for the economic life o the equipment. This means that once the machine is no longer viable, the disposal and replacement is on the service provider. A merging of terms and conditions to create a near ideal situation is what forms the combination leases. These have terms that are present in both services as well as capital leases. This enables maximization of value from leased equipment(Ung & Zeinfeld, 2011)
Whereas there continue to be challenges in healthcare, opportunities and new trends are also emerging. It is thus a prerogative for health leaders to keep abreast with issues to be at a position to make progressive and beneficial decisions for their facilities.
References
Dixon-Woods, M., McNicol, S., & Martin, G. (2012). Ten challenges in improving quality in healthcare: lessons from the Health Foundation’s programme evaluations and relevant literature. BMJ Quality & Safety , 21 (10), 876–884. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2011-000760
Goddard, M. (2015). Competition in Healthcare: Good, Bad or Ugly? International Journal of Health Policy and Management , 4 (9), 567–569. https://doi.org/10.15171/ijhpm.2015.144
Nursing and Implementation of Modern Technology – Signa Vitae. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 March 2019, from http://www.signavitae.com/2016/10/nursing-and-implementation-of-modern-technology/
Roncarolo, F., Boivin, A., Denis, J.-L., Hébert, R., & Lehoux, P. (2017). What do we know about the needs and challenges of health systems? A scoping review of the international literature. BMC Health Services Research , 17 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2585-5
Ung, B., & Zeinfeld, J. (2011). How to optimize an equipment leasing program. Healthcare Financial Management: Journal of the Healthcare Financial Management Association , 65 (4), 92–96.
