Innovation is a key business and organizational success driver, hence there is a need to have foresight on issues affecting the industry operations and devising innovative strategies to take up the arising opportunities and address potential threats. In that respect, this analysis seeks to demonstrate how strategic planning can be used to address changes in order to foster organizational success. To achieve the objective, the analysis reviews a publication relating to the healthcare industry and identifies changes addressed in the article which forms the basis of the strategic planning overview of an organization in the industry. This has been done by reviewing the issues discussed in the publication and explaining their implications to Florida Hospital’s operations. Further, the analysis explains the necessary strategic considerations for the organization in terms of resources and actions needed to address the changes as well as noting the changes’ implications to patients. The analysis also addresses government regulations that need to be complied with, as well as the potential for profit making with the strategic actions.
Discussion
Publication summary
The publication discusses the partnership between the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) and Florida Blue Foundation in their effort to promote health practices that enhance childhood obesity prevention in Florida through collaboration with healthcare service providers and insurers. The initiative also has a focus on policies and programs that cater for child health in respect to obesity through collaboration with communities. In that respect, the partnership seeks to promote the initiative through various aspects like, grants for various purposes including:
- Research grants that are meant to promote knowledge advancement in the field of childhood obesity prevention. This is mainly granted to government agencies, colleges and universities and non-profit organizations.
- Practice grants that are awarded to evidence-based programs that have demonstrated success in the community’s effort to address childhood obesity problem.
- Policy grants which are awarded to lead organizations in communities to promote their effort in identification of childhood obesity. (NIHCM Foundation, 2013)
The initiative seeks to establish coalitions between healthcare organizations and the community to develop healthcare plans that are sensitive to community linguistic and cultural needs. In addition, the initiative applied seven strategies including:
- Targeting low income children and high risk communities
- Enhancing improvement in child care and school settings
- Promoting increase in access of healthy foods
- Improving healthcare providers systems
- Addressing advertising and marketing practices (NIHCM Foundation, 2013)
However, it is noted that the differences in community factors like cultures and awareness levels necessitates differences in programs and action plans and the initiative success achieved so far include
- Effective guide to funding worthy programs through community coalitions
- Formation of food council in Jacksonville
- Formation of youth’s councils in Jacksonville and Tallahassee
- Promoting acceptance of EBT cards by new and existing farmers in the community. (NIHCM Foundation, 2013)
With those action plans and demonstrated success, it is anticipated that the initiatives will promote significant reduction in childhood obesity.
Future implication to the organization
With the initiatives and the partnerships changing the industry focus from curative healthcare to preventive focus, the new trend has a number of implications for Florida Hospital which offers obesity treatment services. Such implications would include:
- The organization will need to change its operations system and structure in order to foster partnership with financiers as well as other service delivery partners.
- A need to adapt more preventive approach to childcare health by the organization.
- The organization will have to devise programs and services that tap initiative resources in the industry.
- The initiative could result to reduced obesity cases hence a potential threat to curative services.
- A need to partner with community and industry players in order to draw competitive advantage form the initiatives obesity knowledge and information from research. (Fred, 2011)
Strategic considerations: Resources and actions for change management to take up the opportunities
In order to address the changes that are presented by the initiatives, the organization will need to tap resources and devise strategies meant to enhance sustainability as follows:
- Human resource management will require recruiting more staff that has suitable skills for obesity prevention and community based service provision.
- Establishing partnerships with communities in order to benefit from the initiatives through grants that can be assessed for purposes or research and result based programs. (Keller, 2012)
- New programs development will be necessary to provide services that are preventive focused like patient educative programs.
- The organization should establish new financial systems to cater for new service payment methods with donors and government agencies becoming key partners in paying for obesity healthcare services which reflects a shift from patients paid services. (Peikes, 2012)
Implications to patients
In addition to having implications to the organization’s operations the initiatives and associated changes have implications for patients in several ways including:
- Obesity cases reduction with increased awareness on means of preventing the problem in children.
- Cost efficiency in accessing obesity preventive services with the increased funding of community based services.
- The initiatives will promote ease of information and healthcare knowledge access. (AcademyHealth, 2012)
Government regulations to be complied with
With the industry shifting a focus from curative to preventive services as hospitals establish partnerships with other industry players including insurers, the government could create policies and regulations that seek to guide operations of hospitals that operate as medical institutions as well as research centers. Further, the institution in its bid to deliver results based programs that are grant funded will require different licensing from the current licensing as a medical institution operating as a healthcare service delivery. (Florida, 2013)
Profit potential for the organization
With a new focus on healthcare preventive services, the organization will be serving an emerging need and demand that will create a new target group and clients. In that respect, the new business line has profit potential considering that government and other agencies that seek to promote preventive measures and are heavily investing in the initiative in terms of financing preventive services development, research and result based programs. (Berenson, 2012)
Conclusion
The analysis has demonstrated that changes in industry factors and trends need suitable adjustments in organizations’ strategic actions and plans in order to enhance opportunities utilization and addressing threats. In that respect, the change in the healthcare industry with key partners shifting their focus from curative to preventive focus for childhood obesity warrants an equal shift in focus by the organization’s offering services in the field. In that respect, resources including human resource and finances needs to be channeled to develop suitable programs that seek to adapt to the market changes. Further, the change is demonstrated as one that has potential to deliver benefits to patients in terms of reduced obesity cases as well as efficient services access. On the other hand, the new business line and services focusing on preventive programs has potential for increasing the organization’s profits.
References
Berenson, R. (2012). The Growing Power of Some Providers to Win Steep Payment Increases
31(5), pp. 973-81.
AcademyHealth. (2012). Transforming Health and Health Care: Florida Focus.
An Academy Health Symposium Exploring the Role of Health Services Research in State and Local Policy and Practice. Retrieved from https://www.academyhealth.org/files/FileDownloads/AHTransformingHealthCareDelivery.pdf
Florida Hospital. (2013). Weight management. Retrieved from
https://www.floridahospital.com/weight-management
Fred, R. (2011). (13th Ed.). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Keller, K. (2012). (4th Ed.). Strategic Brand Management: Global Edition. New York:
Pearson Publishers.
NIHCM Foundation. (2013). Promising Practices: Community Partnerships to Prevent
Childhood Obesity in Florida. Retrieved from http://www.nihcm.org/documents/ChildhoodObesityPrevention10.1.13.pdf
Peikes, D. (2012). Early Evidence on the Patient-Centered Medical Home. Princeton (NJ):
Mathematica Policy Research 2012 Feb. 50 p. AHRQ Publication No.: 12-0020-EF.
