Articles Review
Healthcare system is a complex system of relationships on various organizational levels. While organization-client relationships are essential, the success of the companies in the sector depends on their ability to recognize the trends and opportunities and build stronger bonds between public, private and not-for-profit (NFP) sectors. Globalization, technological advancement and others aspects of the environment in which healthcare professionals and organizations operate places more pressure on the healthcare system with regards to strategic development and implementation of appropriate strategic alternatives, which can ensure sustainable and high-quality service in all the services.Martin Healthcare Systems is subject to all these influences and the latest trends in healthcare and social systems outline the direction of a strategy of the organizations.
Hick et al (2004) in their article “Health Care Facility and Community Strategies for Patient Care Surge Capacity" raise an important issue of capacity management and strategic alternatives available to the healthcare organizations to support the increased attention and need to attend emergencies and disaster management. The authors look at the current setting and the approach to organization facility management,outlining the issue of silo thinking and the lack of cooperation between federal level and facility level management. The point that is made by the researchers is that the strategies, involving emergency management should be scalable and flexible enough to deal with many types and different timelines of disasters and emergencies. The article looks at specific strategies for attending surge capacity and capabilities in the hospitals, based on public, facility-level, and community-based capacity. The conclusion, outlined in the work is that new strategic alternatives can offer an effective solution and distribute the growing pressure on the organizations, once the healthcare facilities and other stakeholders, such as government and NFP agree on the mechanisms to allocate resources on regional and jurisdictional levels. In the scope of Martin Health Systems, the attention to emergency management and disaster attendance is critical due to the multifaceted approach of the organization to the services and categories of clients, attended in the facility. More cooperative and high-level approach to building on capacity along with external stakeholders can result in increased efficiency and effectiveness of attendance along with reduced operational costs.
Another interesting research was done by Porter (2009), who discussed the challenges of the U.S. health system and argues in favor of reform to shift to value-based thinking and systems. In his article "A Strategy for Healthcare Reform – Towards a Value-Based System", the author suggests that in spite of numerous debates in academic and business field, not a lot have been changed in the U.S. health system until the moment and the issues, which concerned the professionals in the field two decades ago continue to underline the challenges today. Porter argues that modern healthcare system lacks focus on customer value and the specific health outcomes per dollar spent. He suggests that the industry along with operational level strategies of each organization should focus on both, delivering universal healthcare coverage and restructuring the care delivery system. The article outlines a multi-step approach to reaching this goal. First of all, the nature of the health insurance competition should change in a way to set insurers health as core criteria for the profitability of any private or public insurance. Secondly, the employees themselves should be part of the insurance system. This will help the employers to develop a culture of wellness and foster effective screening and prevention systems. The third element of the strategic alternative is the critical need to address the unfairness of the system with regards to those individuals, who do not have access to employer-based coverage. This should be supported by the development of the statewide and multistate insurance pools, which would make the insurance more affordable to the wider population.Finally, the author suggests implementing income-based subsidies in the industry to assist the low-income population in purchasing insurance coverage. Indeed, when it comes to the analysis of the situation at Martin Health Systems, it is evident that the issues of insurance policies, payment options, and coverage are critical. Even given the approach of the organization to provide quality and equal care to all types of patients, the organization depends on the decisions taken on a nation and statewide level, limiting the options and differentiating the customers by the social status, where employer and the government do not take active part in bringing the health system to a level, where social element becomes unimportant. The suggested strategy can benefit the organization in building on the mission of social justice and better living of the community.
Ruggie (2016) looks at the most recent strategies and tendencies in the healthcare institutions around the country, outlining growing interest to alternative medicine and increased cooperation between traditional and alternative medicines in general. In her article "Mainstreaming Complementary Therapies: New Directions In Health Care" the author notes that the fight for recognition and acceptance of the alternative medicine is going on for decades,including acupuncture, massage,herbal medicines, and chiropractic. The point that the author is making is that recent recalls of medicines and research of the practices in the US outline the variations in practice patterns among doctors. This leads to the recognition of the lack of consensus in the healthcare system in general and opens the doors for discussion with regards to more cooperative approach and strategies in traditional and alternative medicine. The author concludes, that while conventional medicine continues to fight for its credibility,the reality shows that alternative medicine continues gaining popularity among different stakeholder groups. With that in mind, the true cooperation between the two sectors can deliver a great value to patients and more strategic options in the struggle for better healthcare system for the country. Martin Heath System does not provide alternative medical services at the moment, while there is a clear interest for this type of treatments from patients with health insurance as well as those, who opt against traditional medicine. By opting for including the alternative medical services in an organizational portfolio, the organization can demonstrate an innovative and client-oriented approach to medicine as well as take the full control over the treatment of its patients by offering the cooperative alternative and conventional treatment solutions.
Aanestad and Jensen (2011) work “Building nation-wide information infrastructures in healthcare through modular implementation strategies" look at another side of the challenges in the healthcare industry. While the authors discuss the issue with regards to Norway, the situation is relevant to the issues and challenges in the US market as well. Technological development and knowledge management are critical for the organizations in the sector. While companies recognize the need to focus on technology innovation, the costs, and the expertise gap often do not allow healthcare organizations implement efficient system and effectively manage them in a long term. The author suggests that one of the critical nationwide strategies is to implement large-scale information structures in healthcare through modular implementation strategies. The point that the authors are making is that modular implementation approach allows addressing the major strategic challenges of all the stakeholders: cost distribution, closing the knowledge and competency gap, mobilization of stakeholders. By taking this strategic alternative to implementation of the Electronic Patient Record (EPR), the system as a whole will be able to benefit from the faster response to the external trends, capacity management as well as the quality of individual attendance. For Martin Health System specifically, the strategic alternative is crucial as it allows integration and accuracy in knowledge and data management, allowing for better screening and specific treatment services as well as eliminating unnecessary costs from the process.
“Alternative Models of Hospital-Physician Affiliation as the United States Moves Away from Tight Managed Care" by Casalino and Robinson (2003) discuss the efficiency of the Independent Practice Association (IPA) and Physician Hospital Association (PHO) over the past two decades. The authors outline that the expectations from the initiative were to share and optimize the costs and risks of contracting models. While at the time the idea of hospital-physician integration appeared to be effective, the financial and operational issues, which became evident in the hospital under PHO and IPA outlined the need for alternative strategies. The authors suggest, however, that this does not mean that the healthcare system is switching from affiliation to medical staff model. The empirical studies show that over 65% of the institutions still apply the IPA and HPO. The reality is that the structure itself should be re-thought to improve the operational and commercial structure in a way to bring benefits to both, doctors and institutions. The authors further discuss the forms of hospital-physician affiliation and the pros and cons of each of the three models with regards to the financial positions. Based on the research and analysis of four specific institutions the authors conclude that the healthcare institutions should look for new strategies which would incorporate a mixed approach to managing hospital-physician relationships, offering responsiveness and flexibility in this partnership. Forward-thinking organizations, with a complex structure, such as Martin Health Systems should recognize that the external environment is becoming more dynamic and traditional approach to managing stakeholder relationships will no longer be able to offer sustainable competitive advantage and the focus on quality. With that in mind, it is critical that the organization looks at possible strategic alternatives to diversify the model of its relationships with such stakeholders, as physicians.
References
Hick J.L., Hanfling D., Burnstein J., DeAtley C., Barbisch D., Borgan G.M., and Cantrill S. (2004). Health Care Facility and Community Strategies for Patient Care Surge Capacity. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 44(3). 253-261.
Porter M.E. (2009). A Strategy for Healthcare Reform – Towards a Value-Based System. Health Care. The New England Journal of Medicine. 361(2). 109-112.
Ruggie M. (2016). Mainstreaming Complementary Therapies: New Directions In Health Care. HealthAffairs. 24(4). 980-990.
Aanestad A., and Jensen T.B. (2011). Building nation-wide information infrastructures in healthcare through modular implementation strategies. Journal of Strategic Information Systems. 20(2011). 161-176.
Casalino L. and Robinson J.C. (2003). Alternative Models of Hospital-Physician Affiliation as the United States Moves Away from Tight Managed Care. The Milbank Quarterly 81(2).331-351.
