Value in Healthcare, Coursework Example

Healthcare Value

Value in healthcare is a very elusive term because it may mean something different to each individual patient and healthcare provider. Value in healthcare is when an organization has the same goals. In the healthcare field the most important goal is to provide access to services that are of high quality, patient-centered, cost effective, and satisfactory to patients. Among must patients, the common concern is cost. Some patients define value as the cost of the services they are purchasing; however, the organization should not measure value with cost containment.

Outcomes of Value

There are many ways to determine if value is being carried out by an organization. Most often, this is conveyed through word of mouth. So many patients at healthcare facilities have other family members or relatives that receive services from the same facility. That is always a good way to know that the facility is producing desired outcomes. Another way to determine if value is being produced is by documenting the overall health of the patients that receive services at the facility. Also, careful documentation of improved health of people who have debilitating diseases like hypertension or diabetes. When a person’s health improves it means that he/she is taking the advice of the doctor because he/she values what the doctor is saying. A final way to determine the outcome value is the number of patients being seen. Some facilities have more patients than the doctors are able to see in an adequate amount of time. However, because patients value the service, they are willing to wait extended periods of time to see the doctors they value and trust.

Efforts to Provide Value

For most people, visiting the doctor is a stressful time. Healthcare workers need to be personable people who are able to calm fears and provide quality services. One way we do this at our facility is by playing music in the waiting areas. We have noticed that many of our patients who usually had high blood pressure reading when they first came back; she no longer has those high readings. One patient we had would always request to have her blood pressure checked at the end of the visit because she would be so nervous when she came back. Nonetheless, by the end of her visit, her blood pressure would be back to normal. Another way we are trying to ensure value is by taking the time to talk to our patients. The medical field is a fast paced environment and often we are so focused on providing medical attention, we forget that we are humans dealing with other humans. The process becomes such a routine that we say the same thing to each client each time they come to visit us. The clients notice this. We have made a point to learn at least one thing about our clients. That may be as simple as knowing the patient’s son plays softball.

Factors that Cause Complexity

Many clinicians agree that technology has been a great asset to the healthcare field. The use of electronic health records isimproving the quality and convenience of services they render by improving accuracy in diagnoses, and coordination between health care providers.Electronic healthcare records allow clinicians to have accurate up-to-date medical records for their patients speeding up prognoses and the recovery process. This technology ensures that patients, clinicians, and pharmacist have open lines of communication. Nonetheless, this great asset can become a factor of complexity when it is met by resistance from both healthcare workers and patients.

Institutional Theory

According to institutional theory, the environment of the institution strongly influences the organization. This is very important to the morale of the employees, as well as the patients that are receiving services at the facility. Often, working in the healthcare field, workers are faced with sad situations; nonetheless, it is so important that they still maintain an up-beat personality. I believe the institutional, open system, and resource dependence theory are all linked together in that they each stem around the environment of the organization. I believe that this is important to any organization, not just the in the healthcare field.

Open System Theory/Resource Dependence Theory

Open system theory was introduced directly after World War II. This theory conveys that organizations are influenced by their environment. The environment can consist of many different factors-economic, political, and social. These factors can change the organization and determines if the organization will survive or not. This theory has altered the way schools are viewed and the demands that are placed upon educational leaders. Prior to this, schools were treated as if they were independent of their environment, but today researchers have discovered that the environment of the school plays a very important role in the achievement of the school. Likewise, the resource dependence theory attempts to measure how well an organization does dependent upon the resources it is provided with.

Strategic Management Perspective

This perspective attempts to align the organization with the changing environment. Environmental changes include shifts in competition, regulation, customer preferences, political will, technology availability and/or economic conditions. Environment changes can present challenges or opportunities for an organization.

References

Gruber, D., Cummings, G., Leblanc, L., & D. Smith (2009). Factors influencing outcomes of clinical information systems implementation. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing (27), 3. 151-163.

Hung, P.K. (2005). Towards a privacy access control model for e-health services. Faculty of Business and Information Technology. University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada.

Layman, E. (2008). Ethical issues and the electronic health record. The Health Care Manager, (27) 2. 165-167.

Wang, B., Wan, T., Burke, D., et al., (2005). Factors influencing health information system  adoption in american hospitals. Health Care Management Review 30(1), 44-51.