Geniusy_2006 Wk 3 Team Paper

University of Phoenix

Introduction

The organization chosen for this assignment is Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) in Southern California. It is a public, nonprofit acute hospital facility in addition to four offsite facilities. PVHMC serves two neighboring counties of Los Angeles and San Bernardino County. The mission of PVHMC is to provide high quality, cost effective health care services to residents of the greater Pomona Valley. Over the next five years, the hospital will complete construction of a new Outpatient Pavilion and expanded Emergency services to better meet the needs of the community.

Products and Services Provided

PVHMC offers a wide range of products and services related to healthcare. In addition to having an emergency department, some of the services provided are oncology, women and children’s care, cardiac and vascular care, kidney stones, physical therapy, robotic surgery, and sleep disorders. Specific to women’s health, PVHMC has specialized equipment to create 3D mammograms. The robotic surgery utilizes a state of the art console that operates four robotic arms allowing for precise surgical incisions. A state of the art cardiac rehab program compliments cardiovascular services offered (Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, 2013).

Addressing Problems with Research

According to the American College of Healthcare Executives, one of the problems or dilemmas that healthcare facilities face daily is financial challenges. This has been an issue for the past five to ten years. PVHMC struggles on a daily basis with figuring out how the facility will gain profit. This is a problem that management and personnel can address with research by researching grants that will help support some of the programs and healthcare the facility needs to care for the people.

There are other concerns that PVHMC must address with research, competition and the latest products. It is important the company keeps up with its competition in which giving the best care to patients is important. There is so much that goes into that concern as well with the highest level of customer service to pair with the hospital’s healthcare. Also, the products play a part in helping to cure pain and diseases. Hospitals must be competitive with the latest technology, equipment and treatment plans for patients. The best way to do this is through market research. Market research would provide the hospital with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions to achieve the overarching strategic plan.

The quest for cutting edge medicine creates a major dilemma. The high cost of delivering care has been culprit to several hospitals closing its emergency room doors (Welsh, 2014). Hospital closures mean communities do not have the benefit of having emergency medical care in their community. It means that people have to travel to another town to seek medical care.

Research Proposal

An important aspect for Pomona Valley Hospital to research would be in the area of costs and quality of care. Quality in healthcare is usually judged by the outcomes of the care provided. There is an expectation to continue to advance technologically even though the verdict is still out on long-term results. An example is the cost to perform robotic surgery. This approach to surgery cost more than traditional surgery. It takes longer, uses more supplies, and is more resource intensive. A doctor can choose to do a 3-hour robotic surgery on a 45-minute surgery ratcheting up the cost to deliver care when the outcome is the same. Unfortunately, the added cost isn’t fully reimbursed depending on the insurance payer. The challenge is balancing cost , quality and competitiveness.

Additional Research Questions

Although the first significant step has been taken towards establishing the research objective, it is also important to establish additional research questions that will branch off from the primary goal of this project. This process is called establishing the management-research question hierarchy (Cooper and Schindler, 2011).

The first dilemma facing PVHMC is a multitude of budgetary concerns. The primary research question proposed is whether or not additional grants will be helpful. Some follow-up questions that can be added to this hierarchy are: 1) Will it be necessary to hire a team of grant writers? 2) Will it be possible to use resources from within to give grant training to skilled writers who are already employed? 3) Will a consulting firm be ideal for taking on grant-writing while the first two questions/options are explored and subsequently executed?

The second issue that requires additional hierarchy is dealing with the competition. The additional questions that will need to be researched are: 1) Will the market research to investigate the competition be an internal project or will a consulting firm be ideal? 2) What is the budget of this marketing research and subsequent equipment or service upgrade? 3) What will be the most efficient way to spend money to improve the facility based on the results of the market research?

Summary

PVHMC is vulnerable to the effects of rising cost of healthcare delivery. The future health and well being of the counties it serves is also at risk. Research questions identified pertain to financial performance, competition and quality of care. Answers to the research questions will guide the organization to make informed, evidence-based decisions around strategic planning to address the three areas of concern identified.

References

American college of healthcare executives: Research and resources: Top issues confronting

hospitals: 2013. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ache.org/pubs/research/ceoissues.cfm

Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). Retrieved from

The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

McClave, J.T., Benson, P.G., & Sincich, T. (2011). Statistics for business economics (11th ed.).

Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. (2013). About Pomona Valley Hospital Medical

Center. Retrieved from http://www.pvhmc.org/introduction.asp-About Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center

Welsh, B. (2014). California’s hospitals emergency room closures. Retrieved from

http://projects.latimes.com/hospitals/emergency-rooms/no/closed/list/