Organizational and Patient-First Strategies in Healthcare
A,B, C are the sections of the paper to complete section b to be 3 pages and section c to be 3 pages
the paper should be 7 pages total
SCENARIO:
You are a change manager at a large, urban hospital. The hospital recently acquired a 25-physician multispecialty practice. The goal of this acquisition was to improve preadmission and postdischarge primary care for patients. The acquisition was also intended to better meet the population health needs, which require the hospital to be increasingly measured and reimbursed. The practice was previously owned by the 10 physicians who started the practice over 25 years ago. Because of its origins, the practice has a very hierarchical culture that is reflected in its organizational structure. Owner physicians are at the top of the hierarchy, followed by employed physicians, then other clinical staff (nurses, medical assistants), and finally nonclinical front-office staff. You have been tasked with implementing a new team-based model of care delivery that more fully engages all members of the practice and puts patients at the center or “top” of the hierarchy.
REQUIREMENTS:
A. Assess the current patient care delivery situation by doing the following:
1. Identify five key stakeholders in the scenario.
a. Discuss the impacts of the acquisition on the key stakeholders identified in A1.
2. Identify three barriers for change.
a. Discuss the criteria you would use to prioritize the barriers identified in A2.
i. Prioritize the identified barriers according to your criteria in A2a.
b. Explain three key leverage points for initiating change.
B. Develop a change management strategy (suggested length of 3–5 pages) to improve patient care by doing the following:
1. Describe two approaches for implementing the new team-based model of care delivery.
Note: Proposed strategies should include consideration of organizational culture and patient-first (consumer centered) strategies.
a. Discuss the strengths of both approaches described in B1.
b. Discuss the weaknesses of both approaches described in B1.
c. Recommend one of the two approaches in part B1 based on the strengths and weaknesses of each one.
i. Justify the approach recommended in B1c.
C. Propose an implementation (suggested length of 3–5 pages) for the change management strategy from part B by doing the following:
1. Desibe the sequence of steps you would take to implement the strategy.
2. Describe an approach for measuring whether the intended change is occurring.
3. Discuss the challenges to sustaining the change once the strategy is initiated.
a. Describe two approaches for overcoming these challenges and sustaining the change.
Healthcare strategy
Student’s name
Institutional affiliation
Course code and name
Instructor’s name
Date
Health care strategy
Part A
Various factors such as the changes in technologies and the increase in the demand for healthcare have changed the hospital environment and its requirements. This requires healthcare centers to develop scenarios that would enhance the healthcare accorded to patients. In the given scenario, change has been adopted by acquiring a 25-physician multispecialty practice. The five key stakeholders identified in the scenario are patients, owner physicians, employed physicians, other clinical staff such as nurses, medical assistants, and non-clinical front-office staff. The impact of the acquisition on the stakeholders is that the patients will be able to access the services of an additional 25 physicians. This will attract patients and increase the volume of services offered by the practice. The physician-owners would be able to receive higher revenue. The employed physicians will receive a higher compensation package. The other clinical staff would be likely to benefit from an increased volume and enhanced reputation, patient service, and interaction with a wider pool of doctors. The non-clinical staff will have to adjust to the new practice but will experience a healthy increase in workload.
The key theme is how these stakeholders will cope with the changes that come with an acquisition. The three barriers to change in this scenario are the organizational structure, hierarchical culture, and resistance to change by employees. The best criteria for prioritizing these barriers to change is the number of stakeholders affected. The organizational structure will affect all staff members, whereas the hierarchical culture will only affect the physicians and the resistance to change by employees affects only the non-clinical staff. The resistance to change affects all stakeholders, and therefore, it should be prioritized. The second category would be organizational structure, with hierarchical culture being the last. The key leverage points for initiating change are the high compensation packages, improved healthcare, and reduced number of patients per physician. These factors would lead to an improvement in the work environment.
Part B
The consumer-centered strategies for implementing the team-based model in the healthcare center are selecting a pilot team and creating a change team. The pilot team strategy could be used to test the effectiveness of the new model and identify the barriers to implementation. If successful, the strategy could be extended to the entire healthcare center. The change team would comprise experts in human resources, organizational development, and change management and oversee the implementation of change. Communication would play an important role in achieving a smooth transition from traditional healthcare to team-based care. The passage of time will trigger resistance to change among stakeholders who might start working against it. Hence, the pilot team and the change team ought to work within the shortest time possible to ensure the change has been successfully implemented.
Among the strengths of the pilot team approach is that it would be easier to implement, less costly, less disruptive, and more likely to succeed. The pilot team strategy is easy to implement because it can be implemented quickly. Moreover, it is less costly and less disruptive to the healthcare center because a smaller team can be selected than the entire hospital. Using a pilot team strategy would also be easier to select members with competence and experience. This will allow a smooth transition that other strategies would be difficult to achieve. A smooth transition, in this case, is a necessity to prevent the employees from becoming resistant to change. The strengths of the second strategy are that it is scalable to the entire healthcare center. Therefore, it would be more effective in transitioning from traditional care to team-based care. The strategy is also likely to succeed because it is consumer-centered and involves employees' engagement. The change team approach is also ideal because it focuses on the employees' change. Its main focus is to drive change within an organization, and therefore, it would reduce the chances of the employees resisting change.
The major weaknesses of the pilot team approach are that it would take longer to implement the change, a long-term commitment is required, and there might be a resistance to change by some members. The first weakness of this approach is that it would take longer to implement the change because a team would be selected and trained. This would delay the transition process and increase the costs involved in implementing the new model. The costs include a selection of team members, training, compensation, and administrative costs such as relocation costs and training material. The strategy also requires commitment over a long period to succeed. Therefore, the initial costs are high, and there is a tendency for the team members to become resistant to change over time. The major weakness of the change team approach is that it is resource-intensive, and it would be difficult to attain the commitment of every employee. The change team approach uses more resources than the pilot team approach because it involves long-term and higher levels of commitment from every member of the healthcare center. Moreover, it would be difficult to ensure that every employee commits to the change. It is also likely that some employees will resist changing their practices, habits, and working styles. The approach would also be resource-intensive because it would involve detailed planning, evaluation, and implementation. The focus of the approach is to drive change within an organization. Therefore, it would be difficult to ensure that all e...