Similar to most businesses, healthcare institutions such as hospitals operate at many levels ranging from financing, resource management, and patient care. This, therefore, means that healthcare institutions must conduct strategic planning. Strategic planning is different from a traditional plan as it takes into consideration outcomes from every sector of the organization. According to (“How Strategic Planning Benefits Hospitals & Healthcare Systems in 2019”, 2019) Some of these desired objectives for Healthcare Strategic Planning include, good long-range forecasting, cost accounting, effective capital planning, good risk management skills, better service line decisions, manageable budget and better company culture.
Strategic planning requires that the company or business develop a timeframe from one point to the next efficiently and effectively. This process requires a system to assist in achieving the result. The process is cyclical and continuous and requires pattern as well as focus to stay on track. According to Olsen (2019), the first step takes approximately two weeks and involves discovering the organization’s purpose as well as the desired future. The second step also takes two weeks and entails assessing the strategic position of the organization. The third step takes between two to four weeks and involves developing an organization’s strategies as well as priorities. The fourth step is to cascading the strategy to operations and takes about four to six weeks. The fifth step is aligning the people as well as financial resources in the organization. The process takes about two weeks. The final step is executing the plan, and this step is supposed to be checked in every month. This timeframe is the best because it makes the best strategy for not only creating but also executing a successful strategic plan.
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Certain perspective is required by healthcare organization when adapting a plan for the future. It is true that healthcare organizations experience challenges because of hitches experienced when satisfying a progressively more ‘aware’ and demanding user. Healthcare organizations must change their organizations so that they can be at par with swift changes experienced in approach as well as technology. According to Speziale (2015), high capacity and complexity of doctors do not guarantee the essential needs in any business to serve customer needs. This, therefore, means that healthcare organizations need to shift to an ‘organization-driven’ care process instead of a physician-centered organization. They also need to obtain the best outcomes at the lowest cost.
The four important elements for a successful strategic plan include the whys, the how, the whats and the who (Harris, 2018). The whys entail the reasons for planning. It is essential to understand the need for planning before embarking on the planning exercise. The how entails the drivers model for the plan. The whats refer to the terms as well as definitions of the strategy and the who is the strategy facilitator.
Key characteristics of effective strategic planning teams include honesty, collaboration, innovation, positivity, commitment and passion, excellent listening skills and strong communication amongst team members (Smith, 2019). Strong communication and good listening skills amongst the team members are essential when sharing ideas and visions of the strategy. Passion and commitment make the team members remain focused on the strategy. Positivity and collaboration create happiness and cooperation amongst team members, which in turn makes the team members work harder.
There are three levels of inquiry needed to assure contractual implement in planning process outcomes. These levels are planning of the risk mitigation, implementation of risk mitigation, and monitoring of the progress (Harris, 2018). The first level entails developing actions as well as options needed to reduce project objectives threats and enhance opportunities. The second level entails executing actions of risk mitigation. The third level deals with finding new risks, tracing recognized risks, and assessing the risk process.
References
Harris, J. (2018). Healthcare strategic planning (4th ed.).
How Strategic Planning Benefits Hospitals & Healthcare Systems in 2019. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.stratadecision.com/healthcare-and-hospital-strategic-planning/
Olsen, E. (2019). Time Frame for the Strategic Planning Process - dummies. Retrieved from https://www.dummies.com/business/business-strategy/time-frame-for-the-strategic- planning-process/
Smith, R. (2019). Strategic Leadership: The 10 Characteristics Of A Good Leader | ClearPoint Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/strategic-leadership- characteristics/
Speziale, G. (2015). Strategic management of a healthcare organization: engagement, behavioural indicators, and clinical performance. European Heart Journal Supplements , 17 (suppl A), A3-A7. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/suv003
Stanleigh, M. (2019). 5 Key Factors to Successful Strategic Planning | Business Improvement Architects. Retrieved from https://bia.ca/5-key-factors-to-successful-strategic-planning-2/
