Healthcare organizations tend to be complex and dynamic. The nature of a health care organization requires a well-established governing body that would provide leadership, supervision and coordination of all staff and processes. A governing body ensure that tasks of the organization are carried out in the best way possible to achieve organizational goals and ensure appropriate resources such as human resource and finance are adequate to support the organization (Bodenheimer, 2011).
The board need to have knowledge and skills in human resource, healthcare delivery and performance, information and technology and in business and finance. These competencies would enable the board achieve operational efficiencies such as creating high-quality and standardized healthcare services.
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The board is responsible for oversight of the healthcare. Its responsibilities include, making strategic decisions for the healthcare in the areas of human resource, Information Technology, finance and marketing. Additionally, the board has a responsibility of hiring and monitoring an effective CEO who will oversee a formidable workforce that would work to the best of the interests of all patients. The board also ensures the healthcare is providing quality care through the use of modern technology that make services efficient and cost effective. Overseeing financial well - being of the healthcare through accountability and establishment of a strong financial management system as well as staying updated in healthcare industry news and best practices is also a key responsibility of the board. Similarly, the board need to be a good ambassadors of the healthcare in the society and promoting modern technology in marketing and community awareness of the healthcare (Bodenheimer, 2011).
Performance measurements
Quality of healthcare services
This measure expresses the quality of care delivered in Middleville. It is a quality control program which monitor the level of quality of services offered in the healthcare (McDonagh & Umbdenstock, 2016) . Measures here may be in form of processes. For example, how quickly expectant mothers in labor pain are attended to or in form of outcomes e.g. rate of mortality in Middleville.
Importance
Quality services would enable the board create a system that enhance best medical standards and ensure the highest quality of patient care. It also promotes health care that minimizes risks and harm to the patients. For example, reduced medical errors. Additionally, it helps in providing effective services based on scientific knowledge and evidence based guidelines. Quality services also enables delivery of efficient health care in a manner that maximizes resource use and avoids waste. Lastly, quality based health care is people centered as well as promoting services that takes into account patients’ preferences and aspirations.
Cost of healthcare services
This standard measure indicates the financial expenditure involved in healthcare services such as prices charged for labor and delivery. This performance measure help the board to identify opportunities for reducing costs as a mechanism to improve health treatment. Cost effective performance measure would indicate the number of patients treated in the health facility and successfully discharged after clearing the bill. The patients would include those with commercial insurance covers, those whose healthcare is catered for by the state and uninsured patients.
Importance
This measure enables the board formulate ways to reduce cost of services especially among the lower class members, help to establish cost effective health systems such as implementation of EMR and lastly, work to the benefit of the community by providing cost effective services to all members of the society.
Market share standards
Market share standards is oriented towards measuring the number of patients who are willing to access healthcare services in Middleville compared to other healthcare centres. This may be based on quality and cost of services provided since patients would want to attend a health facility with high quality and standardized services and where cost of such services is effective. The performance measure will encourage the governing board to develop programs that would help improve quality of healthcare in order to encourage more patients to seek services in Middleville.
Importance
Marketing performance measure would help the healthcare maintain good relationship with the current patients who would in turn recommend friends and family members attend the healthcare (McDonagh & Umbdenstock, 2016) . Additionally, it would enable the board develop and maintain good relationship with the competitors. Lastly, marketing share performance would indicate the willingness of other facilities to recommend patients to seek medication in Middleville.
Areas Middleville should focus on to maintain its competitive market share
Information Technology
Investing in health IT would help Middleville to better manage its patients’ care through secure use and sharing of health information. Maintaining an accurate and secure information about a patient’s health would help the healthcare provide the best care to patients on routine visits and those seeking emergency care. Information technology would also help to better integrate care given to patients with serious medical conditions.
Health information technology is also a secure way to share information with patients and their loved ones in the internet. This means patients and their families can look for information on the website about organization that offer the best care to a patient’s condition. They are therefore able to make informed decisions on where to take their patient. Generally, IT help to educate patients and make them much aware of the developments in the field of medicine. Additionally, it provides an advanced program that help to diagnose health problems easily, minimize medical and clinical errors and provide better care at a lower cost.
Marketing
It is important for Middleville to advance its marketing programmes in order to maintain its competitive market share and ensure that its current patients keep visiting and also attract new ones. To achieve this, the organization need to identify the needs of the patients and the community in general, design a marketing plan with an objective on what it want to achieve and what it needs to do to achieve those goals. A well-executed marketing plan would enable the healthcare penetrate into a bigger market and maintain a wide market base.
AS a competitive edge, Middleville should use modern technology and the internet to expand its customer base. Building a website where they update patients on the latest conditions, changes in schedules or timings and add links to informative websites would be very useful. The website should be customized to provide online scheduling of appointments, maintenance and security of patients’ records and patients’ testimonials.
Financial management
Financial management would help the governing body gauge financial effectiveness of day to day operations of the healthcare. It would also help the organization forecast its near and far future financial position. Financial management would guide the board in making strategic decisions such as when and how to acquire assets like equipment and other facilities. Good financial management would provide the board with information to enable it make strategic plans in order to prepare for the future ( Wanless, 2014) . This would give Middleville a competitive edge since it has a well-planned program for the future
Costs and benefits associated with EMR implementation
Globally, there is widespread use of electronic health records. And although Electronic Medical Record systems offer numerous benefits, there are both advantages and disadvantages in regard to its cost effectiveness. Electronic Medical Record systems have a lot of benefits which include reduction in care costs, improved healthcare services, reduction in medical errors and improved ability to conduct medical research. Despite this benefits, EMR has a number of drawbacks which include high acquisition cost, high maintenance costs and workflow disruptions associated with introduction of a new system. Overall, adoption of EMR systems results to significance benefits to both patients and society in general ( Wanless, 2014) . Middleville governing board should therefore consider adopting these systems in order to improve its overall services and promote cost effective high - quality and standardized healthcare services.
Plan on how to implement Electronic Health Record systems
There are a number of steps involved in the implementation of various health record systems. These include,
Assessing organization’s current state. The first step is to conduct an assessment on how the healthcare currently gets things done.
Plan your future. Analyze how the systems will improve the workflows, create new workflow patterns and improve efficiency.
Select certified systems. Ensure that the systems are certified in order to achieve meaningful use and quality.
Build an implementation plan. Create a transition plan to the new system. Appoint a person with necessary skills to manage the project plan to its completion.
Plan a transition chart. Establish a transition chart that will guide you to move from the current state to the new system.
Conduct training and implement the new system. Put the system in place and train your staff on its use.
Achieve meaningful use. This involves successfully attesting and reassessing what you have learned from training and everyday use of the system
Continuous quality improvement. This is continuous assessment of the system to ensure it has reached maximum functionality and that the intended benefits have been achieved.
Ways in which Middleville Human Resource department can promote employees satisfaction
Providing a conducive working environment. A positive work environment produce a positive workforce. Encouraging the employees, avoiding employee micromanagement, providing positive feedback and ensuring criticism is constructive are all means to maintain a friendly environment where employees can thrive. Employees’ productivity is enhanced in an environment that enables them to apply creativity and innovativeness in their duties. An organization should create an environment that enable growth and development of employees’ careers.
Recognition and rewards. Employee recognition is a powerful tool in creating morale and motivation. The board should encourage supervisors and manages to acknowledge and recognize staff who perform well on a daily basis. Coming up with a program that recognize and reward top achievers in every department and job category would also be very essential. A positive competition can build morale, encourage hard work and increase satisfaction and employee retention. Middleville should come up with a program that acknowledge, recognize and reward its employee’s hard work, creativity and innovativeness and loyalty.
Reference
Bodenheimer, T. (2011). High and rising health care costs. Part 2: technologic innovation. Annals of internal medicine , 142 (11), 932-937.
McDonagh, K. J., & Umbdenstock, R. J. (2016). Hospital governing boards: a study of their effectiveness in relation to organizational performance. Journal of Healthcare Management , 51 (6), 377.
Wanless, D. (2014). Securing good health for the whole population . London: HM Stationery Office.
