An Analytical Look at Strategic Planning in Health Care, Business Plan Example

When mergers are made between departments in any organization, the issue of leadership emerges. The organizational goals and objectives should be well stated and understood so that any plans made are well aligned with the hospital’s strategic plans. It is important to note that strategic goals have an effect outside the practice that formulated the goals and objectives, whether the impact is on the same department or across other departments. The interconnection between departments should be recognized and the implications of the merges are essential especially when making decisions (McGuire, 2002). The business plan should be planned in a way that fits the organization’s goals, values and mission. The better the fit, the more the business plan will receive support and attention.

Long-term departmental objectives

• To change and respond to new forms of leadership and initiatives
• To plan as well as implement improvement initiatives
• To come up with new approaches of doing work
• To come up with specific improvement initiatives. This will define a line between the teams and each will know their responsibility.
• To spread improvements to other units, departments and facilities

Functional objectives

These objectives are designed to ensure the achievement of corporate objectives. They include:

• Successfully launch the merged department and what it will entail to all the concerned and involved parties
• Increase productivity since the merger will also mean merged ideas
• Reduce the average time taken to produce results since the work and leadership of the merged departments will be shared

Policies

• Blend a growth strategy of new development
• The merger will be analyzed for all pieces of a coordinated care system for patients
• All members will be required to compare other forms of leadership to select the most appropriate and also let others know. We will then come up with the most appropriate form collectively.
• All elected leaders are expected to learn steps to identify potential partners that will fit the organization’s vision, values and mission

Procedures for monitoring performance

Procedures that will be used to monitor performance will include:

• Planning work and setting expectations so that every team member knows what is anticipated of them. We shall set performance goals and expectations for each team member, so they channel their efforts towards the achievement of objectives (Counte & Meurer, 2001).
• Continually monitoring performance so that none of the team members deviates from set objectives and goals. Performance will be consistently measured, and feedback provided to team members on their progress towards reaching their goals.
• Developing the capacity to perform. Developmental needs are addressed and evaluated. The capacity to perform will be increased through training, improving work processes, giving assignments that will commence new skills or higher responsibility levels.
• Periodically rating performance in a summary fashion so that each member knows where he or she stands in relation to performance. Performance is rated against standards and elements in a performance plan.
• Rewarding good performance; this will boost the morale of the team members and each will strive to succeed as they align their objectives with those of the hospital. Team members are recognized for their performance and are acknowledged for their contributions.

Operational goals

Achieve cross-hospital standardization. This is achieved through sharing work and leadership, which is a great motivation for standardization processes and forms across all institutions and departments. The merger strategy will reduce variations in work patterns as well as unnecessary rework and any potential errors. The merger will also create chances to standardize the measurement and reporting of quality issues. It will make it easier to develop consistent requirements, accurately set priorities and evaluate progress.

Recommendations

• The committee should encourage mergers of departments since strong institutional governance and experienced leadership is needed to make hospitals stable.
• A physician should be included in the board with the exception that he or she must be dedicated to the organization’s values and mission.
• The committees and task forces should embrace the change since it could save the hospitals of operation costs

How designated team members will collaborate with both the board members and physicians.

The collaboration will see the team members reconfigure the system in use so that the whole thing will become patient-focused, patient-driven and patient-centered rather than doctor-driven. The members will be masters of change so that they can convince the board and physicians to embrace the new possibility (Schraeder, 2002).

We will actively pursue possibilities and new opportunities through transformation and turnaround of the institution and be able to excite and incite the whole organization about the new possibility.

The plan will influence management staff and will positively facilitate change through shared vision and commitment from all involved parties. The involved parties should show strong leadership and personality skills, so that management of quality service becomes easy.

References

Counte, M. A., & Meurer, S. (2001). Issues in the assessment of continuous quality improvement implementation in health care organizations. Int J Qual Health Care, 13: 197-207.

Schraeder, M. (2002). A simplified approach to strategic planning: Practical considerations and an illustrated example. Business Process Management Journal, 8(1), 8-18.

McGuire, R. (2002). Decision making. The Pharmaceutical Journal, 269, 647-9.