HCA 421 Health Care Planning & Evaluation WK1-D2

Welcome to Week 1!

Throughout this course, we will be discussing and learning about creating strategy.  The main purpose for creating a strategy is to remain competitive and to be successful.  In order for an organization to survive, it must plan (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012).  Strategic planning is the process of identifying the desired future state and delineating the steps needed to achieve that state (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012).  This is not a linear process.  It is a circular, constant process that includes a feedback loop to continually maintain focus on the desired future state.  The figure below is from Chapter 1 of the text. 

It demonstrates the many steps of strategic management and planning.  Note, that the last box mentions the feedback loop that takes you back to the top to review and revise (Spath & Abraham, 2013).

Strategic planning is a multi-step process, beginning with setting a goal and vision.  Where does your organization want to be in the future?  This is essentially how you will begin the planning process.  If your organization does not know where the finish line is, how can the race be run?  There are many different categories of strategies, and the one that is best for the organization will depend on the vision, goals, structure, market, product, consumer, etc. of that organization.  Sections 1.4 and 1.5 in the text outline and discuss different types of plans or strategies.

The following video discusses the business plan, or strategic plan, for businesses and how to plan for success.  As is mentioned by the text, many think of strategy as a way to compete in the market; while a business plan or model sets out the method for delivering value to the consumer (Spath & Abraham, 2013).  There is a fine line here.  Since in order to compete and be successful, you must provide a valuable product to your customer.  There is much overlap between these two terms and concepts.

Critical Issues in Business: Success and Failure -

Once the goals are set, the next step is to determine where the business is now -- a baseline.  A thorough analysis and assessment of the organization is the first step -- the first box in the image above.  Knowing the current status of the hospital or organization will set the stage for the strategy planning.  The leadership needs to know where the organization stands financially, competitively, and internally (Spath & Abraham, 2013).

A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is the foundation for strategy development.  This is the first step to the planning process.  The table attached to this announcement is an example of a SWOT analysis.  It provides a quick look at where the organization stands today and what weaknesses or threats need to be addressed in the strategic plan.  

The first two components (the S and W) look at the organization itself.  This is the internal investigation (Spath & Abraham, 2013).  The strengths and weaknesses outline how the organization is functioning currently.  The last two components (the O and T) examine the exterior issues the organization faced by the organization.  

With the dramatic and fluctuating changes facing the healthcare industry today, all organizations involved in healthcare will need to take a look at themselves and their competitors in order to survive this evolution.  As the text states, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has many "game-changing aspects" that will challenge health service organizations (Spath & Abraham, 2013, sect. 1.3).  Many changes are on the horizon.

References

Buchbinder, S. B., & Shanks, N. H. (2nd Ed.). (2012). Introduction to health care management. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Films Media Group, 2012. [Video]. Critical Issues in Business: Success and Failure. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=18596&xtid=52670 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. .

Spath, P. L., & Abraham, S. C. (2013).  Strategic management in healthcare organizations (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. . Ashford University: San Diego, CA.