Strategic planning is not only critical in business but also in almost every activity human beings engage in. For success to be part of those activities, proper strategic planning is inevitable, coupled with the effective implementation of the various steps outlined in the strategic plan. This process of strategic planning is also widely applicable in healthcare where various tools are accessed for their practicability, effectiveness and efficiency in service provision. For instance, needs assessment and demands analysis are key tools in determining the strategic plan as well as evaluating the various healthcare organizations. Briefly, these tools help to evaluate what the patients need and the effectiveness of the strategies intended to meet those needs. The tools are also pivotal in evaluating the expertise of the healthcare staff and provision of quality medical attention and services to the patients.
The needs/capacity assessment is very essential as far as not-for-profit and public health organizations are concerned. The same is due to their vulnerability to be overstretched in their resource and administration of medical services. A needs/capacity assessment is, therefore, critical to ensure that the healthcare organization works at its optimum without unnecessary strain to the resources and staff since the not-for-profit and public health organizations are exposed to this risk. An example of such a capacity assessment is given in the table below showing a brief summary of the scoring scale of the Scott County Health Department.
References
Kinsella, A. (2010, May 4). Strategic Planning. Retrieved from www.cwru.edu: http://www.cwru.edu/med/epidbio/mphp439/Strategic_Planning.htm
Hughes, R. G. (2008, April 9). Tools and Strategies for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2682/
Operational Definition Matrix Assessment. (2007, April 23). Scott County Health Department’s Organizational Capacity Assessment. Retrieved from www.naccho.org: http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/accreditation/upload/ScottCountyIAsummarydoc.pdf
Soyring Consulting. (2013, March 7). Strategic Planning. Retrieved from www.soyringconsulting.com: http://www.soyringconsulting.com/strategic-planning?gclid=CjkKEQjw4_ubBRCArMWr6avk_J8BEiQAIj43tXSZqy1H89u0Ig6MVZGDHlWnT4KbcTVoD04MuCVd0p3w_wcB
