Operation Management Definition Paper

Management is important in any environment, but especially so in the healthcare field.  As the health care system continues to evolve, sound management is critical to the survival of health care institutions (Johnson, 2005). The management team in a healthcare environment must always aim to improve the efficiency of the day to day activities and constantly plan for ways to improve the productivity and efficiency. Every manager’s main duty is to succeed in helping the organization achieve high performance while utilizing all of the organization’s human and material resources. On a daily basis health care managers must recognize performance problems and

Operations management is the organizing and controlling of the fundamental business activity of providing goods and services to customers (Encarta, 2005). In the healthcare industry, operations management generally focuses on providing a service of healthcare to patients. An organization has three basic functional areas, and theses are: finance, marketing, and operations (Operations Management, 2004, p.4). Since operations is one of the three basic functions of an organization it holds a strong significance in the healthcare industry. The contents of this paper will explain what operations management means to the writer, and why is operations management important to a healthcare organization.

The healthcare system in America started as a predominantly volunteer system where patients were required to pay little to nothing for treatment. Since it began, the healthcare industry has seen tremendous changes that have transformed it into a business entity which has operations like financial management, strategic planning and functional specialties to keep the industry viable. The industry is one of the largest in the country employing 15 million people with a projected increase of jobs with 3 million jobs annually. As the healthcare industry continues growing, services and personnel are changing, and various dynamics are coming into play to accommodate changes (Smith, Saunders, Stuckhardt, & McGinnis, 2013).

In conclusion, with revenue at stake, hospital administrators are constantly looking for strategies to enhance the

Dr. Karen Buhr, PhD is the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer of Bellevue Hospital; a large, a not-for-profit hospital located in New York City. After two weeks of working in the public sector, she misses the benefits of a seemingly endless cash flow available when working in a world renowned, private academic hospital. Bellevue Hospital has been in deficit for the past two years and patient satisfaction regarding care is at an all-time low. Her first task is to develop and implement cost saving measures for the clinical services provided. She has met with clinical and administrative leaders to identify potential savings and other opportunities for improvement. However, she has hit a road block. How

Healthcare outcomes have become increasingly important, as organizations strive to improve quality and efficiency of care, while controlling cost. North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC) has become a model of instituting strategies that contribute to high efficiency. According to Carroll &Edwards, “Leaders at NMMC believe that by focusing on serving patients, empowering staff, and improving health care quality, lower cost and growth will naturally follow”.

Health care administration is a very important and crucial role in today’s healthcare system. With an ever-changing national health care system, the role of a Health care Administrator or Healthcare Executive more than ever is needed. Healthcare facilities, organizations, and or offices rely on health care administrators to plan, direct and coordinate all medical health services (United States Department of Labor , 2014). Some areas where one might find administrators are managing entire medical facilities, specialized clinical departments, or a medical practice for a group of physicians (United States Department of Labor , 2014). The need for high-quality health care administers is more now than ever with the fast-changing health care laws.

Over the past few years, healthcare managers have become increasingly imperative to distinctive departments and units, where they have taken on a wide variety of roles, functions and responsibilities. On top of assuming all these roles, with the healthcare industry constantly fluctuating, healthcare managers have to be flexible and adaptable in order to maintain and improve the performance of their staff members. Depending on the environmental context, healthcare managers are given diverse and specific responsibilities that best serve their particular department. However regardless of a clinical or non-clinical position, all healthcare managers place great emphasis on directing their attention to decision-making tasks, improving communication,

As a new health care manager of a, hospital affiliated, multidisciplinary practice there are a number of things that I need to consider, before even stepping foot on the premise. The role of a healthcare manger is to create an environment that offer essential and quality care at maximum profit.

Regarding healthcare, the new “guarantee-payment” system for managers of the Medicare era, it was not necessary to have essential business proficiencies. The United States healthcare industry has over 5,000 hospitals staffed with clinical managers who lack high-level professional skills needed to be successful. As a country, we do not possess the desired skill-set for the job at hand. The goal is to reduce expenses, enhance outcomes and improve the public perception of the care provided.

Due to the rapidly changing technology and approach as well as difficulty of satisfying the more aware and demanding clients, healthcare organizations are faced with more challenges than ever before. However, to ensure that client needs are met, it is important for the organizations to obtain the best outcomes at the lowest cost to ensure optimal value to patients, and emphasize on organization-centered care process. Healthcare practitioners should overcome the challenges in their organizations by enacting strategies that transform the systems’ performance.

Finally, unexpected events, such as physician shortages is a possibility, so industry leaders who adapt quickly to change are likely to succeed. Equally important is the manager's capacity to influence the patient's perception of quality and the attributes of quality. From this reading, healthcare managers should conclude that quality management, statistical thinking, and clinical support are skills that leaders are expected to employ and master. Healthcare professionals who lack these skills would likely yield results that conflict with the organization's desired goals and operational

Recently, medicine in the United States has been experiencing a period of upheaval far greater than baseline with the Affordable Care Act, regulations for EMR’s, or the transition to ICD-10, to name a few. These changes are affecting many things in medicine. Altering not only the cost of doing business but the way in which it is conducted. Institutions must be able to adapt and innovate to stay at the top of the game. We in health care must be searching for and adopting strategies that address the multi-faceted issues facing healthcare today. It 's not about simply providing top notch medical care to patients. We must also deal professionally and efficiently with insurance providers, the government, and other institutions. On top of this we must also ensure that our solutions, policies, and products are appealing to, and enhance, the work environment of health providers at all levels. During my clinical years of medical school I noticed a substantial lack of business knowledge on the part of individuals and institutions. When working

Successful medical organizations have as their guiding principles a professionally stated purpose which encompasses and details their mission statement, vision statement, values statement, and broad strategic goals. The organizational structure is established on these statements, and the function of each department and the duties of each employee are based upon fulfilling the purpose of these statements. Additionally, these statements must encompass the various aspects of the organization and its stakeholders. As Moore, Ellsworth, and Haufman (2011) purport, “ Any organization planning as though it exists in a vacuum is ignoring factors critical for its survival” (p. 16). Without these guiding principles to serve as a direction for the

Arnold Palmer Hospital exists due to its customers who are the patients. Knowing the customers' expectations is very important for improving the hospital's services because as part of the total quality management at the hospital where process of continuous improvement, there is always room for improvement and perfection. If patient(s) is or are disgruntled by any service(s), the hospital should be thinking about ways to improve their process. Further, a patient's assessment enables the hospital to know whether their services would be recommended to others as word of mouth is the best advertising. Also, patients will not have the expertise to judge the quality of