Health & Medical Question

Description

Create a 5-7 page report that will help the Director of Strategic Planning at a health care organization understand current trends related to service line management, leadership, patient experience, employee relations, and quality improvement.

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Introduction

In the current health care environment, patient satisfaction is a key metric by which reimbursement is determined. When organizations and leadership fail to consider the patient experience when planning organizational strategies, they risk losing income (via reimbursement) and business volume (via patients deciding to find new or alternate providers). While leadership may not interact with patients on a daily basis, there is a lot they can do to improve and impact the patient experience, which may include bringing patients and leaders together to better understand their experiences, creating a formalized definition of patient satisfaction, involving patients and families in improvement efforts, improving employee engagement, and ensuring staff are provided with regular customer service training.

Leadership is vital to every industry. Leaders are important catalysts in the organization’s ability to establish a vision, formulate a strategic plan, motivate staff, influence culture, and achieve business and department goals. Leaders within the organization who oversee daily operations can impact quality efforts through daily rounds, direct communication and contact with front-line staff, and follow-through with employees who voluntarily report safety and quality concerns.

As the transition from volume to value continues, health care organizations are implementing a variety of strategies to cut costs and improve quality. Included in these strategies is the management of clinical service lines. The goal of each service line should be focused on utilizing evidence-based medicine or clinical pathways to reduce care variation, resulting in improved patient experience and outcomes. Challenges to service line management include (but are not limited to) who will lead, what support they have from senior leadership within the organization, buy-in from clinicians, and information technology.

A popular management approach to service line management is the dyad model. This model utilizes a business leader who oversees and manages the operational aspects of the service line, as well as a physician leader who oversees the clinical practices. To be effective, the dyad model requires transparency and communication, which ultimately lead to trust and credibility with staff. Positive, productive working relationships in the service line are founded on trust, credibility, communication, and transparency. The benefit of this relationship can be seen in the roles working together toward setting and achieving a strategic vision. Working toward the strategic vision of the organization is advantageous as targets are met, tactics are completed, quality improves, and patients are satisfied with their experience.

Preparation

This assessment focuses on various models, strategies, and concepts related to strategic planning, leadership, and organizational success. If you have not yet done so, it may be helpful to check your knowledge around these topics by completing the activity in the Leadership, Strategy, and Organizational Success section in Assessment 3.

Instructions

While not entirely unique, leadership in health care differs from that of other service industries. Several unique characteristics of the health care industry include rapid and constant change, reduced reimbursements, political scrutiny, heavy regulation, a diverse workforce, and being tasked with the health and well-being of those who patronize the facility (often requiring life-and-death decisions).

For this assessment, consider your organization is three years into their ten-year strategic plan and they are updating it to align with current industry practice and standards. The Director of Strategic Planning has asked you to research several topics related to service line management, leadership, patient experience, employee relations, and quality improvement as these topics are top of mind for the staff, patients, payers, and regulatory agencies.

Include the following in your paper:

• Analyze health care leadership and its impact on patient experience.
  • Discuss why the patient experience is a critical issue for health care operations.
  • Identify the senior leader’s role in impacting patient experience.
• Explain implications for the organization if patient experience is not a strategic priority.
  • Describe potential signs of patient dissatisfaction.
  • Identify areas that would be impacted.
• Analyze service line management and the challenges associated with this organizational structure.
  • Discuss service lines within the health care setting (for example, what they are, why they are formed, how they impact organizational success).
  • Discuss how clinical departments were managed prior to the development of service lines.
  • Describe the changes required in hierarchal structures to allow for more effective management.
• Analyze the pros and cons of leading the service line using the dyad management model.
  • Describe the cultural shift involved in adopting a dyad management model.
• Explain the importance of employee and provider relations on the overall success of the organization from the service line perspective.
  • Identify the support functions provided to a service line and the importance of these functions on its overall success.
  • Identify two resources (one must be culture) necessary for the service line director to be effective.
• Analyze the role of the health care leader in regard to organizational quality improvement.
  • Analyze the impact of quality management on the overall success of the organization and why leadership is critical to improving quality (for example, the importance of quality as a strategy and implications for the organization if quality is not managed).
  • Discuss the role the leader has in quality management (for example, culture, improvement cycles, identifying opportunities for improvement).
  • Discuss the benefit of management rounding as it relates to identifying and managing quality issues within the organization.

Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

• Apply the principles of effective composition.
• Determine the proper application of the rules of grammar and mechanics.

Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.

• Determine the proper application of APA formatting requirements and scholarly writing standards.
• Assess the relevance and credibility of information sources.

Submission Requirements

• Written Communication: Writing is clear, precise, scholarly, and free of errors that detract from the overall message. Concepts flow in a logical order.
• References: A minimum of three references, in addition to the course textbook.
• Length: 5-7-page paper.
• APA: Correct use of APA style and formatting. Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] as needed.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Describe when and how the senior leader would directly impact health care operations.
  • Analyze the role of the health care leader in regard to organizational quality improvement.
• Competency 2: Analyze the impact of the various success factors of a health care organization.
  • Analyze health care leadership and its impact on patients’ experiences.
• Competency 3: Analyze the concept of competitive strength by considering efficiency and effectiveness of organizational processes.
  • Analyze service line management and the challenges associated with this organizational structure.
  • Explain the importance of employee and provider relations on the overall success of the organization from the service line perspective.
• Competency 4: Apply management concepts to lead an efficient health care system.
  • Explain implications for the organization if patient experience is not a strategic priority.
  • Analyze the pros and cons of leading the service line using the dyad management model.
• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with health care professionals.
  • Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.
  • Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

Scoring Guide

Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.

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Criterion 1

Analyze health care leadership and its impact on patients’ experiences.

Distinguished

Analyzes health care leadership and its impact on patients’ experiences and substantiates the analysis with support from the literature.

Proficient

Analyzes health care leadership and its impact on patients’ experiences.

Basic

Analyzes health care leadership and mentions some impact on patients’ experiences.

Non Performance

Does not analyze health care leadership nor its impact on patients’ experiences.

Criterion 2

Explain implications for the organization if patient experience is not a strategic priority.

Distinguished

Explains implications for the organization if patient experience is not a strategic priority and strengthens the discussion with data from studies in the literature.

Proficient

Explains implications for the organization if patient experience is not a strategic priority.

Basic

Describes some implications for the organization if patient experience is not a strategic priority.

Non Performance

Does not describe implications for the organization if patient experience is not a strategic priority.

Criterion 3

Analyze service line management and the challenges associated with this organizational structure.

Distinguished

Analyzes service line management and the challenges associated with this organizational structure and makes suggestions about how to address the challenges.

Proficient

Analyzes service line management and the challenges associated with this organizational structure.

Basic

Describes service line management and mentions some of the challenges associated with this organizational structure.

Non Performance

Does not describe service line management nor mention some of the challenges associated with this organizational structure.

Criterion 4

Analyze the pros and cons of leading the service line using the dyad management model.

Distinguished

Analyzes the pros and cons of leading the service line using the dyad management model and forecasts organizational results for short and medium term.

Proficient

Analyzes the pros and cons of leading the service line using the dyad management model.

Basic

Describes either the pros or the cons of leading the service line using the dyad management model.

Non Performance

Does not describe the pros or cons of leading the service line using the dyad management model.

Criterion 5

Explain the importance of employee and provider relations on the overall success of the organization from the service line perspective.

Distinguished

Explains the importance of employee and provider relations on the overall success of the organization from the service line perspective and illustrates the discussion with examples of good and bad relationships.

Proficient

Explains the importance of employee and provider relations on the overall success of the organization from the service line perspective.

Basic

Describes employee and provider relations but does not relate it with the overall success of the organization from the service line perspective.

Non Performance

Does not describe employee and provider relations nor relate it with the overall success of the organization from the service line perspective.

Criterion 6

Analyze the role of the health care leader in regard to organizational quality improvement.

Distinguished

Analyzes the role of the health care leader in regard to organizational quality improvement and provides meaningful examples of discussed points.

Proficient

Analyzes the role of the health care leader in regard to organizational quality improvement.

Basic

Describes portions of the role of the health care leader in regard to organizational quality improvement.

Non Performance

Does not describe the role of the health care leader in regard to organizational quality improvement.

Criterion 7

Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.

Distinguished

Writes following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references without errors and uses current resources.

Proficient

Writes following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.

Basic

Writes mostly following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references, but there are lapses in style use.

Non Performance

Writes without following APA style.

Criterion 8

Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

Distinguished

Writes clearly and logically, using evidence to support a central idea, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; the report contains supporting examples for the main points.

Proficient

Writes clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

Basic

Writes with few errors that can make text difficult to follow at times; errors involve spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

Non Performance

Writes with many errors, making text difficult to follow; errors involve spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.Question1of10Patient experience is considered an organizational strategy because: (Select all that apply)

Select all answers that apply

a) it is seen as a competitive and strategic differentiator to gain market share.

b) it gives the patient a voice.

c) it reduces the chance of a bad patient review online.

d) it leads to reduced costs.

Question2of10Compliance with Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (HCAHPS) is important for organizations to observe and monitor for the following reasons except:

Select one answer

a) Reimbursement

b) Benchmarking

c) Individual staffing decisions

d) Performance improvement

Question3of10Service lines have been created within the healthcare organization for all of the following except:

Select one answer

a) Improving patient outcomes

b) Physician alignment

c) Siloing operating units

d) Reducing variations in care

Question4of10

4. Fill in the blank – this leadership model changed the prior vertical hierarchal structure to that of a horizontal one whereby administrative and clinical leaders shared in the responsibility of management:Enter your response

Question5of10

Explain why leadership is vital to the success of quality improvement within the organization.Enter your response

Question6of10

Fill in the blank _______________ is a commonly done within health care organizations to establish visibility, build trust, identify potential threats to patient safety, and allows for face-to-face interactions with front line staff.Enter your response

Question7of10Employee engagement is important for the health care organization as engaged employees are often (Select all that apply):

Select all answers that apply

a) Stewards of the company

b) Good decision makers

c) Less productive

d) Focused on patient satisfaction

Question8of10

Short answer – What is the purpose of strategic planning for the health care organization?Enter your response

Question9of10Which of the following leadership tactics are not effective in driving the organizations success as it relates to patient experience:

Select one answer

a) Micromanagement

b) Strategy related to patient experience

c) Culture

d) Staff Engagement

Question10of10

Why is it important for organizations to have contributors with leadership skills in positions across the organization, not just those positions traditionally see as leadership?Enter your response