Recommendation For Revision Of Penn Mart 's Health Care Strategy

An employee can help reduce the cost of health cost by doing several things. There has been an outcry from organizations due to the rising number of competitors with high expenses catering for health benefits during employment periods and on retiring. The employee can be of great help by being participative in the programs set by their employers to benefit more from other advantages far from health costs (Kerzner, 2013). Some of the choices an employee may consider to help control health costs are by boosting consumerism, use technology to manage benefits, and indulge in fitness and health programs.

The health care system in the United States is known for being one of the most costly systems in the world. In 2010 the Affordable Care Act, (ACA) was implemented with the hopes of reshaping the system and decreasing the healthcare cost, (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, O’Grady, 2016). . Somewhere along the way our country made healthcare a business. Understandings our country healthcare finances can be quit complex. In order to be successful the Chief Nursing Officer, (CNO), business owners and directors must understand the business principles. These individuals are placed in leadership role and therefore must have the characteristics of a leader, (Huber, 2014)

The memorandum from Salvador Monella to the Board of Directors addresses the rising costs of employee healthcare benefits at Penn-Mart. His communication includes an explanation of his purpose in addressing the healthcare costs, findings regarding Penn-Mart’s benefits costs, a recommended program to implement for cost reduction, and a discussion containing support for their recommendation. While some business people may be tempted to simply accept the information presented in Mr. Monella’s memorandum, it is my opinion, after reading Browne and Keeley’s Asking the Right Questions (2012), that adopting a critical thinking approach is the most effective way to evaluate the document.

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).

The society we reside in has evolved to the point of no return. Most of our health care system consist of technology, implementation, goals, scanning, monitoring, forecasting and assessing. However, critical strategies and resource priorities involve ensuring that all the essential elements are currently met within the organization. Also, prioritizing strategies are as follows strategic thinking, strategic planning and managing strategic momentum. Each facet acknowledges and identifies what is important in hospitals and health care. Therefore, the delivery of each process allows the organization to recognize the need for the patient and population. THE LITTLE BOOK “the plan sets direction for the organization and through a common understanding

As leaders, Army officers need to be able to make decisions on a daily, even hourly basis. While the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) is the typical method for operational decisions, routine issues often require less regimented methods such as Army Problem Solving . Our point of view, the information at hand, the concepts we base our views upon, our personal implications and assumptions, and the purposes that motivate our need for decisions are all critical in determining the ultimate effectiveness of this problem solving process. Drs. Paul and Elder enumerate the “Elements of Thought” which include and incorporate supporting traits and standards. Through proper integration of these accepted standards into our thought processes can and does significantly improve our overall use of the Army Problem Solving process by enhancing our critical thinking skills and our ability to think rationally.

As such this paper shall endeavor to analyses the possible effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on the healthcare sector business and the possible strategies the human resource departments

The title of the book being reviewed is Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business and Bad Medicine written by Donald Barlett and James Steele in 2004. This title explains what will be described in the book; how health care was transformed into more of a business and reduced the quality of care to the communities served. The main audience was to Americans in general. The purpose of this book was to show Americans the flawed health care system and explain how it grew out of control. The quality has decreased significantly, access to care has been restricted by the insurance moguls and lack of paying providers. Lastly, the cost of going to see a provider for any treatment has skyrocketed while the economy was unstable. The argument was that changing United States health care to a single-payer system will benefit Americans with better, more quality care and also reduce cost overall by eliminating private insurers.

Rising health care cost has challenged organizational leaders to develop new strategies and initiatives to reduce cost. New initiatives are important because the rising health care cost often interferes with an organization's ability to make a profit or stay in business (Littler, 2007). Possible initiatives for combating rising health care cost could be shifting all responsibility to employees or redesigning the benefit where both parties share the responsibility. Some organizational leaders have chosen the strategy of shifting costs to employees over redesigning their benefits system to combat rising health care cost (Larsen & Pomeranz, 2009). The redesigning of the system could include dropping health insurance coverage for employees (Blumenthal,

The future and direction of health care has been the topic of discussion amongst politician and U.S citizens today. There are several challenges surrounding the future and strategic direction in which health care should be heading. Accreditation, quality of health care and organization’s compliance; access to health care, maintaining a skilled workforce, information technology and pay for performance are some of the challenges that currently presenting itself in healthcare today. If health care is not dealt with appropriately it will have a significant effect an impact on the strategic direction in the future and direction of care.

Effective decision making requires the ability to consistently identify and choose the best option from multiple possibilities. It also requires imagination and logic. Applying the critical thinking process in your professional life will help you disassemble complex health care management problems and better understand the factors that influence your thinking, along with the potential implications of your decisions.

Health and wellness in the work place is a vital part to a company’s success. Employees who are healthier and more productive are less likely to call out from sickness. There are not many companies that have affordable health care coverage for employees. More companies should make healthcare affordable for their employees and their family. Research has been done on how effective health and wellness programs can be in the workplace. Throughout the reading these points will be discussed. The effectiveness of health and wellness in the workplace will also be spoken of. Health and wellness activities in the workplace will be a positive move for companies and employees.

These health care organizations have two types of planning to follow, and they are tactical and strategic planning. When tactical planning takes place, there is a short term goal in mind (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). The course of action for a tactical plan is to achieve a goal within a year or less time period (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). A tactical plan has a smaller scope and shorter time span than a strategic plan (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). It takes several tactical plans to achieve the strategic plan (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). Strategic planning differs from tactical planning, because in strategic plan, the course of action is to achieve goals for the long term (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). Strategic planning goals are usually wanted to be completed with five years (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). The organization’s mission statement purpose and direction are reflected upon strategic planning (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). Top management must view reports on operations, external environments and finances when looking to develop a strategic plan (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102). The development of tactical plans are influenced by strategic plans (Society for Human Resource Management, 2102).

The problem at Memorial Hospital is the focus on costs instead of health care. When a health care provider does not take the primary business as the core value of the operation and make strategic and tactical decisions based primary on costs, it decreases the consumers’ (patients) satisfaction in long run. As consumers reduce or stop purchasing goods and services from the hospital, hospital may make more cost oriented decisions and falls into a negative cycle. Eventually the hospital may face the fate of loosing business to competitors and the possibility of closing the door.

Having a clear vision is extremely important in order to accomplish goals in life and a well-defined strategy is essential in order to fulfill that vision, thereby, both visioning and strategic thinking go hand in hand. As Souba (2004) states that, “[v]ision without a strategy is a daydream; strategy without vision is a nightmare’” (p. 447). It is evident how this competency is essential in each and every sector, in my opinion; this competency will help in the betterment of healthcare sector as well. This paper will address the importance of having a clear strategy and vision pertaining to the healthcare sector and illustrating a case in the light of it.