Healthcare paper continuation

Running head: HEALTH CARE 1

HEALTH CARE 8

Health Care

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Health care center

Technology has an immense impact on the health care sector. If technology is leveraged well, it can move institutions to greater heights of success. Technology has helped save the lives of a lot of patients and also that of the professionals in the health care sector (Vest, 2010). You find that patients can quickly make video calls to their doctors and get treated if the situation is not severe. Technology has not only saved on time but has also reduced some of the running costs. Diabetic patients don't have to visit the hospital anytime they need their blood sugar checked. Technology has devised a machine that is portable and very easy to learn and use for every patient.

How will you be competitive and provide services at a reasonable cost using technology and innovation?

One of the ways for the clinic to be competitive is through establishing an efficient and effective Electronic Health Records (EHR). The medical practitioners will be required to put the patient's records in a digitalized system (Vest, 2010). A certified EHR system will help improve the lives of every patient since medical history can be checked from any medical facility. The system will allow smooth flow of work because entering data into the computerized system will become easy, the patient's records will be checked digitally via portable machines; therefore increasing efficiency and productivity in the hospital.

Secondly, the innovation of electronic health records will help reduce the overall costs of running the hospital (Gaynor & Town 2011). Big data collection is possible with the advancement of technology, and therefore the data collected can be used in predicting epidemics, innovating new medicines and treatments and avoiding deaths that could be easily detected and treated. Thirdly, the hospital will need to work with the team of nurses and doctors to come up with the best surgical technologies that will be applicable in the hospital. For example, the intraoperative MRI is used to remove tumors during surgery (Kvedar, Coye & Everett 2014). Fourthly, hybrid operating rooms will be a game changer for the health care center. It will allow the best utilization of space and will help in saving time.

How will you be able to sustain a competitive advantage using technology and innovation?

The first thing the health care center needs to do is to keep the patients satisfied. There are several ways to make the customer happy, for example, the staff working at the hospital should be friendly, warm and this will help lift the spirit of the patient. Secondly, the health center needs to keep abreast with the latest technologies and methodologies. Patients will always want to attend to a hospital that applies the most recent methods because it doesn't save on time but also on cost.

Thirdly, the hospital will manage to sustain a competitive edge by providing relevant information to the patients (Mukherjee, 2008). For example, they should always put updated information on the hospital website; maybe they could share nutrition tips that will help improve the patient's life and offer wellness programs. Fourthly, if the clinic is committed to providing the best services in America, it becomes easier for patients to refer them to other patients. Also after offering exceptional services, the hospital could ask patients to refer them. Maintaining a competitive edge requires the hospital to stay focused on the patient and be on the lookout of the most recent technology.

Fifth point, the hospital is supposed to offer team building sessions for the hospital staff to enable them to build on their skills in working together as a team. Team building will help the hospital staff to interact and understand each other well, creating a bond which is vital for professionals working together. The staff should also be taught that patients are from different cultural backgrounds and they need to consider that every patient is unique based on their cultural diversity.

What measures would you take to initiate innovative strategies within your company?

The health care center needs first to consider if they will be innovators or should they adopt innovations after being successful in other institutions (McKinsey & Company 2013). Most people are likely to wait and observe if the latest change will be useful in the industry. If an organization is willing to be among the earliest part of the innovation curve, it will need to be a first mover or adopt the latest strategies in the industry. Each approach has its set of merits and demerits, and it's upon the health care center to settle on the one that suits the organization. The innovators are likely to earn a considerable market share, getting quality staff whereas for the early adopters they eliminate the risk of investing in bad ideas.

Secondly, the health care center needs to seek expertise knowledge that will help come up with breakthrough solutions. Health care centers are critical places, and you find operations run throughout a year, so the hospital can consider working with a team of specialized IT developers who will ensure their innovative ideas are implemented. Thirdly, the health care center needs to invest in strategies like a capitalist (Reeves & Deimler 2011). It means that the hospital should be committed to setting a team that will first understand the problem at hand; the second process is the idea materialization and prototyping solutions. The last stage in the capitalist venture is the market, which encourages the team involved to start doing what they innovated.

What type of innovations is available to you, including dominant design and incorporate that into your strategy for initiating innovation strategy

There are several ways to solve a problem, but it becomes easier if innovators or manufacturers agree to use a dominant design that consumers find easy to understand. The type of innovation available for the health care center is Electronic Health Records. The ERH will enable the hospital to reduce a lot of costs and increase efficiency flow in the hospital. The first step of incorporating the strategy is to take the relevant steps in establishing software that will be applicable in health care. For example, the hospital will need to check the amount of data it wants the software to hold and choose the most convenient software.

Secondly, smartphone applications enable physicians to increase their interactions with patients. For example, patients can video call doctors from the comfort of their homes, and the health professionals can access the medical history of patients on a click. The hospital can always be on the lookout of the latest innovation or even invent applications that best suit the hospital.

What type of technologies, innovations will enable you to become a first mover and describe how and when will you implement these strategies

Electronic Health Records will be a game changer for the health facility. The hospital will manage to record a lot of data and access it through applications which will lead to increased workflow and productivity. Through the big data collection, the health center can use the data collected to conduct surveys or to come up with medicines that will help their patients get better. The strategies will be achieved by first setting up the mission, vision and the goals that the health care center want to meet.

For a health care Centre, the purpose is to provide quality services and medicines that will treat patients. With the mission, vision and goals set then it becomes easy for the health center to align themselves with offering quality and valuable services. The strategies should be implemented when operations start in the health center. After selecting the best software that will be used for electronic health records, then the hospital will begin feeding in patient's records.

Describe your strategies for assessment of company performance by using Porter's five-force model, stakeholder analysis, and other measures. What areas of competition do you need to be especially cognizant of in order to remain competitive and relevant in the healthcare provider industry?

The model is used by institutions to determine its profitability and quality of services they are offering. The health center needs to look at the competitive strength of its rivals, and they need to provide services that are of high quality and high standards (Tony, 2006). Porter's five force model will help the company analyze its performance by looking at the five structure of an industry. For example, the company needs to evaluate its competitive position, look out for strengths and weaknesses they can leverage to improve on their performance. Stake holder's analysis should also consider Porter's five model industry structure and conclude how performance can be enhanced by the structure (Arline Katherine, 2015).

To create a competitive edge, the health care center need to stay updated with any developments in EHR, types of machinery used for surgeries and areas of telemedicine (Veugelers, Bury & Viaene 2010). In conclusion, technology and innovation can be used to propel a company to higher levels but if only the appropriate technology is applied (Thakur, Hsu & Fontenot 2012). Every company needs to analyze what best works for them and set up the right strategies to implement. Also, companies are required to hire the right team who understand the vision, mission, and goals of the institution.

References

Arline Katherine. (2015). Porter’s Five Forces Model: Tips and Examples. Retrieved from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5446-porters-five-forces.html

Gaynor, M., & Town, R. J. (2011). Competition in Health Care Markets. Handbook of Health Economics, 2, 499–637. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53592-4.00009-8

Kvedar, J., Coye, M. J., & Everett, W. (2014). Connected health: a review of technologies and strategies to improve patient care with telemedicine and telehealth. Health Affairs, 33(2), 194-199.

McKinsey & Company. (2013). The “big data” revolution in healthcare: accelerating value and innovation. McKinsey Global Institute, (January), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1145/2537052.2537073

Mukherjee, A. (2008, April 4). Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-based Competition on Results. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506120810865442

Reeves, M., & Deimler, M. (2011). Adaptability: The new competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 89(7–8), 7.

Thakur, R., Hsu, S. H., & Fontenot, G. (2012). Innovation in healthcare: Issues and future trends. Journal of Business Research, 65(4), 562-569.

Tony, G. (2006). Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porter’s five forces model. Strategic Change, 15(5), 213–229. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.764

Vest, J. R. (2010). More than just a question of technology: Factors related to hospitals’ adoption and implementation of health information exchange. International journal of medical informatics, 79(12), 797-806.

Veugelers, M., Bury, J., & Viaene, S. (2010). Linking technology intelligence to open innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 77(2), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2009.09.003