Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Week 5 - Final Paper HEALTH CARE PLANNING & EVALUATION HCA -421

Veterans’ Health Administration (VHA)
Name
Institution
Veterans’ Health Administration (VHA)
Introduction
The management of the largest healthcare provider in the United States is a highly exhaustive task requiring comprehensive planning and strategy to ensure the smooth running of its daily operations. The Veterans Affairs health care program consisted of a mere 54 hospitals as of 1930 and has since grown to a highly integrated system boasting of over 171 medical facilities in the United States. The growth of the Veterans Affair medical program into one of the largest healthcare provider in the United States and around the world involves efficient management that is flexible to the changes in its internal and external environments. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has come of age beating all odds to withstand both the external and internal environmental changes within its healthcare structure to becoming one of the most dynamic and effective healthcare providers in the world. Initially operating as large independent healthcare facilities, Veterans Affairs hospitals have undergone a major transition through the VHA’s re-engineering strategy that has equally diversified service delivery to meet the changing demands of both the public and the healthcare industry as a whole. An analysis of the VHA’s strategy reveals some of the strengths, and weakness in the organization’s internal environment as well as the opportunities and threats in its external environment that have a significant impact on the operation of the large network of healthcare systems.
Veterans’ Health Administration’s Background
President Lincoln’s promise of comprehensive care to the veterans of the Civil War, “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan,” translated to the mission of the Veterans Health Administration CITATION Har05 \l 2057 (Harrison, 2005). As of 1930, the Veterans Administration (VA) slightly increased the number of veteran hospitals from 54 to 91 under the leadership of President Herbert Hoover CITATION Har05 \l 2057 (Harrison, 2005). However, a major transition in the VA took place after the World War II due to a large number of veterans in need of medical attention, primary care or otherwise. The number of veteran hospitals at the end of 1950 reached a high of 150 through an emergent wealth of affiliations and partnerships in the medical field with the VA hospitals CITATION Riv02 \l 2057 (Rivers, 2002). The Veterans Administration hospitals partnered with medical schools to facilitate the achievement of some of the organization’s objectives extending from its mission of providing quality care to the veterans and their affiliate beneficiaries. The partnerships with institutions such as the Northwestern University’s Medical School of Illinois served to facilitate the training of the healthcare workers as well as encouraging further research in medical care, which would improve service delivery at the VA hospitals. The formation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989 oversaw the transition of the hospitals into an effective health care system providing quality care through a wide range of services CITATION Har05 \l 2057 (Harrison, 2005).
Overview and Assessments of services provided
The healthcare facilities under the VHA mainly focused on providing primary care to veteran patients with acute medical problems and specialized treatment for cases requiring advanced technology for treatment CITATION Har05 \l 2057 (Harrison, 2005). The increasing cost of healthcare in the United States and the reduced budgetary allocations by the federal government to the Department of Veteran Affairs prompted the restructuring of the veterans’ healthcare system to cut costs through improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) embarked on a restructuring mission through it's it re-engineering strategy that transformed the existing veteran healthcare hospitals, facilities, and care centers into an effective and efficient healthcare system. The integrated system, veterans’ integrated service networks (VISNs) not only serves to provide primary care but also functions as an illness prevention and wellness front. The integrated system currently serves through over 170 medical centers, 354 outpatient clinics, 119 nursing homes, 38 domiciliary, and 194 Vietnam Veteran Outreach centers CITATION Riv02 \l 2057 (Rivers, 2002). The VISNs are operated by a wide range of professionals under the employment of the VHA including social workers, nurses, doctors, surgeons, physicians, and other practitioners serving over the ten million veterans qualifying for the healthcare program.
Besides providing healthcare services, the Veteran Health Administration also doubles as the medical hub for producing qualified medical or health professionals in the United States. Through its 107 affiliated medical schools, VHA provides the best medical training for graduate medical education and further serves as one of the leading medical research centers in the nation. Currently, the VHA ranks among the largest and most efficient healthcare provider in the country and a valuable entity in responding to cases of national disasters.
External Analysis
The VHA can expand and grow to become a household name in the US. There are factors which if exploited greatly can help to propel it and push it further ahead. However, as is always the case, there can never be a lack of challenging spots or threats to an institution’s or organization’s goals, and VHA also has several issues which could hamper its progress. Conversely, with competent management and a workforce that is committed to the objectives of the organization, it is indeed possible for an institution to eclipse its target. Below is a deep elucidation of the opportunities and threats that can propel the organization forward or hinder its progress respectively:
Opportunities
* Provision of care to non-veterans – in Hicks (2014) article, he talks of how the Department of Veterans Affairs health system opened its doors to non-veterans and apparently, more people are using it. However, upon further reading, the article reveals that the non-veterans who use the VA health system are family members of veterans. Well, while this category of people is allowed to use the VA health system in certain circumstances, VA can expand its system to include other people who have no direct ties to veterans. For example, VHA can seek to have a share of the Medicare population in the US which for sure represents a significant percentage of the patient base in the US. The Medicare population is quite big and will surely expand or ensure growth for the VHA. Aside from the Medicare population, there is also the large uninsured patient population in the US. Unlike the Medicare population, this population experiences certain difficulties when it comes to accessing healthcare services. Additionally, the uninsured population also has a lower utilization rate compared to the insured. The people who fall in this category are either ineligible for Medicaid or do not have employer insurance. Therefore, VHA can seek to have these individuals on-board their program. They will not only increase the institution’s appeal to the public but also propel it to become a pillar of the US healthcare industry.
* Becoming one of the biggest healthcare entities in the US – VHA cannot solely depend on providing healthcare services to the veterans who are a small percentage of the US population. Bialik (2017) from the Pew Research Center reported that “the share of the U.S. population with military experience is declining. In 2016, 7% of U.S. adults were veterans, down from 18% in 1980.” The article continues to explain that this decrease “coincides with decreases in active duty personnel.” The number of military personnel on active duty has continued to drop, and this has greatly impacted the number of veterans. The above figures and information confirm that VHA cannot solely depend or rely on the veterans or their family members. Additionally, Bialik’s article rev...