Health Medical Homework Help

Please respond to this 4 peers’ Discussion Prompts

ALL citations and references needs to be APA 7th edition format. (200-250 words each

• Respond to at your classmates’ or your instructor’s posts. Your responses should include elements such as follow-up questions, a further exploration of topics from the initial post, or requests for further clarification or explanation on some points made.

Peers # 1

Both a strategic plan and strategic implementation are necessary to succeed. In my option, strategic implementation is more important than strategic planning. For example, what if you wanted to drive across the country? The strategic plan would involve picking a destination, planning a route, and calculating necessary funds. The strategic implementation would begin when you pull out of the driveway and end when you reach the destination. Though it is important to have a strategic plan, the plan does not come to fruition without implementation (Mack, 2017). A plan without action is simply daydreaming.

           A study done by Harvard Business School, 90% of organizations fail to effectively execute their strategic plans (Dalum, 2019). The reasons for failed strategies are varied, but most hinge on the fact that strategy implementation is resource intensive and challenging. One potential barrier to successful strategy implementation is a weak strategy. If the strategic plan does not have distinct milestones, clear timelines, and precise roles for employees, then there is no clear focus. A weak strategy will not provide a clear path to the end goal or lay out challenges that may be faced, all of which could pose a potential barrier to successful implementation. Another potential barrier that may cause implementation to fail is the lack of communication. The lack of communication can lead to disjointed teams and widespread uncertainty, which can results in a lack of cooperation among teams (Dalum, 2019). Transparent, honest communication is a necessary step for any new plan, and without effective communication, it is difficult, if not impossible, to implement a strategy successfully. Even the greatest strategic plans will fail if there is not proper communication between team members.

Peers # 2

There are several potential barriers to strategic implementation. It is important to include potential barriers in the strategic planning process to better prepare for the impact of those barriers when they do actually arise. If not equipped to adapt given certain barriers the strategic implementation process could fail completely. Some identifiable barriers could include missing links between organizational purpose, vision, and values, unrealistic planning, defects in leadership, resistance to change, and lack of communication, accountability, capability, or resource.

I have witness strategic implementation fail. I noticed two primary reasons why the organization I worked for failed to implement new plans effectively. The planning process was well structured and included plans to improve efficiency through departmental flow. During the strategic planning process other organizations were observed and data was collected on similar department efficiency strategies. The implementation was thoughtful and initially implemented well. The problem was that the organization under estimated how resistance to change and accountability would effect there implementation at a later date.

Humans are generally routine oriented, and although we may feel we can embrace innovations, we frequently fall back to what is comfortable. In my experience, the implementation process lasts for about a month, and then as support subsides many employees fall back to their routine. Employee resistance to change is one of the most challenging barriers to predict. When support is available, many employees generally comply to the new concept, and it is not until support leaves that implementation fails. The moments that precede this are critical. If the implementation process doesn’t hold these employees accountable, then they fall right back into their routine habits.  This is how these two barriers can be detrimental to the strategic implementation process.

Strategic planning and strategic implementation are equally important. They share a very close relationship. Without planning, implementation can not occur effectively. Without implementation, great ideas and concepts will end there and never be incorporated into practice.

Peers # 3

Quantitative data is information about numbers while qualitative data is descriptive, and regards phenomenon which can be observed but not measured (McLeod, 2019). Therefore, qualitative data yields the most information. Though quantitative data provides measurable data, qualitative data offers a deeper understanding into the data (McLeod, 2019). Qualitative data provides the “how” and “why” explanation to a particular phenomenon.

           When it comes to forecasting future trends in healthcare, forecasting should be primarily based on quantitative methods (Langabeer & Helton, 2016). Qualitative methods include mainly market research, executive opinion, or Delphi methods to make subjective or judgmental decisions about the future without relating demand to historical performance quantitatively (Langabeer & Helton, 2016). There are two types of quantitative forecasts, univariate and multivariate. Univariate methods attempt to forecast demand by exploring historical data relative to a single variable, such as number of patients, procedures, or items (Langabeer & Helton, 2016).

           According to Langabeer & Helton (2016), forecasts are always inaccurate, but there are a few practices that a healthcare manager can use to ensure that the data used is accurate. Whenever possible, a healthcare manager should use downstream transactional data for forecasting because the best source of demand is actual customer requisitions, not warehouse orders or inventory movements (Langabeer & Helton, 2016). Another practice to deciding on a realistic forecasting horizon, as shorter time horizons provide more reliable results (Langabeer & Helton, 2016). Using a mathematical or statistical forecasting application that is integrated with the hospital’s existing information systems is another way to ensure accuracy of data (Langabeer & Helton, 2016). A healthcare manager should avoid making predictions on predictions and should avoid using unreliable data sources.

           Forecasting and benchmarking are ways in which data can be evaluated. A hospital may evaluate data to determine readmission rates, while a clinic may evaluate data to determine wait times. Data evaluation may be used to predict the daily patients in a hospital department to determine staffing accordingly. A family practice clinic may evaluate data to determine patient satisfaction and improve quality of care.

           One example of data evaluation for loss of revenue is revenue cycle management. Revenue cycle management is the process of managing claims processing, setting payment practices, and generating revenue (Langabeer & Helton, 2016). This is an analytical method for determining prices to achieve specific objectives (Langabeer & Helton, 2016).  A hospital may also evaluate financial indicators as a way to manage loss of revenue. Evaluating specific metrics on the balance sheet and external benchmarks can provide necessary insight into issues like loss of revenue (Dyrda, 2016).

Peers # 4

When it comes to information and how it relates to care give to patients, I think both qualitative and quantitative data are important, but for the healthcare administrator, I feel quantitative can yield the most information. Having the numbers at your fingertips, put into charts or graphs, can assist with quick views to see the trending data as well, which can help with forecasting future events, and what might need to be monitored more closely. To accurately monitor forecasting data, it would be most beneficial to use multivariate methods, which means they use multiple variables, like time of year, average usage, projected usage, and/or system implementations that can give a more precise forecast (Langabeer et al, 2016).

One example of data evaluation could be a radiology department that sees larger numbers of patients in the winter versus the summer but has had a new influx of young families to the area. Using the multivariable forecasting, we can estimate that this summer might have a larger patient load than previous years. At the same time, another department, like cardiology, might see the trend as increasing younger families and decreasing older generational numbers, and are expecting lower patient number this year versus previous years (Harrington, 2016).

Data evaluation is also important to reimbursement purposes. To use the previous example, the reimbursement department may see an increase in private insurance numbers and decrease in Medicare insurance usage. This can change the reimbursement the organization is receiving from the federal government. This can flow further downstream, and some services that are only available to Medicare beneficiaries may need to be cut or changed. Being able to forecast in any department in any type of organization is important to the ebb and flow of the business model. In healthcare especially, being able to understand both qualitative and quantitative data is beneficial to the healthcare administrator in forecasting what to expect, and how to avoid pitfalls that could be detrimental, not only to the organization, but to the patient’s as well (Harrington, 2016).