Recommendation for Organizational Redesign, Essay Example

Baptist Regional Medical Center is a 300 bed inpatient facility specializing in cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences and transplant programs. The Medical Center is closely affiliated with the Baptist University; a renowned medical school. The current organizational structure is centralized with management controlling resources, budget and processes. Decentralization should be considered to allow subspecialty specific needs to be met, more effective communications and deletion of historical and ineffective hierarchies among faculty and staff.

Developing a decentralized structure involving physicians in the decision making processes should break down existing barriers between hierarchies within the Medical Center. Centralization places management in the position of making decisions affecting certain components of healthcare which should be directed to the clinicians. The new structure should be in alignment with the business goals and synchronized to keep quality patient care as the main mission of the Medical Center, while keeping corporate business targets consistent and actionable. Economy of scale will also be an advantage of changing from centralization to decentralization.

The cardiovascular, neurosciences and transplant programs should be structured to place power for decision making in the functional areas to include purchasing, human resources and operations.  A formal structure for giving authority to the specialists will allow management the freedom to concentrate on strategic planning and communication institutionally. Decentralization will allow the organization as a whole to place greater emphasis on planning; bringing about cohesive unity across the Medical Center. Better business practices will enable higher quality paper care.

The various departments within the subspecialties of Baptist Regional Medical Center should be structured to function in a team manner with senior managers and physicians working together to make day-to-day decisions as well as operational planning. Each department has a physician chairperson and an administrative senior manager. These two individuals should make decisions based on the needs of the department. These decisions and actions would then flow up through management for final approval and consistency with strategy, goals and mission of the Medical Center.

The chief will assign the faculty members specific criteria for functioning at an acceptable level of responsibility and community service. They will be informed and educated regarding quality patient care and business practices. The manager will likewise ensure staffing and proper administrative functioning among the support teams. Purchasing will be conducted through the departments based on the needs of the office environment with clinical staff being responsible for purchasing medical supplies. As purchasing needs arise, the appropriate paperwork will be completed and submitted through the Baptist administrative office for final authorization and submitting to the vendors. This level of authorization will ensure cost control and economic scope for purchasing in bulk across the Medical Center.

This tiered decentralized structure will allow physicians and staff the ability to be involved in all aspects of the business. Recruiting and hiring processes can follow this same structure.  When a new staff member or replacement is needed, the departments will have control over the recruiting process. They will be able to make the decision on staffing needs. The Human Resources department will support the departments and assist in advertising and maintaining compliance with employment laws and guidelines.

The Medical Center should also consider implementation of a global communications system to be able to enhance communication effectiveness. An online publication directed at informing the Medical Center of updates to employment laws, legal mandates, new faculty and staff and any new Medical Center news is helpful in fostering communication and continuity among employees. The publication should include announcements, conferences and seminars, employee needs, clinical trials and a calendar for events in the Medical Center.

Interdisciplinary teams geared to deliver care is an element of total quality management and tears down the traditional view of building business under a ‘silo’ approach through centralization. Barriers associated with hierarchies hinder quality patient care and differentiate disciplines and can produce animosity between levels of authority.  Decentralization empowers employees and physicians, charging each with accountability, transparency and commitment to the Medical Center.

A main objective to move forward with decentralization is to focus on a model of coordination and cultivation rather than the traditional commanding and controlling hierarchy chain. Goal setting and policy guidelines should be clearly stated and documented.  Physician and staff capabilities will be coordinated with new duties responsibilities with incentives for successful implementation and performance.

Baptist Regional Medical Center will benefit from restructuring from a primarily centralized structure to decentralization to create effective information systems to evaluate and monitor patient quality care and cost control. The traditional professional hierarchies are a hindrance to quality and cost containment. Interdisciplinary approaches for this Medical Center will allow the reputation of the specialized medicine, faculty and staff to continue to excel and grow.