Introduction
In the contemporary world, the concept of value is used more frequently in the healthcare industry. According to Porter (2010), the definition of value should focus on the customer (patient in the healthcare industry). The achieved outcomes instead of volume of inputs or outputs should be the measure of value in any industry. In a healthcare organization, value should help in defining the framework that the healthcare organization would use to improve their care. As such, there should be a rigorous system of measuring and improving value in the healthcare facility. In a healthcare facility, the focus of value should be the customer (patient) and not the supplier (healthcare providers). The costs associated with provision of improved health outcomes is closely related to value proposition in healthcare.
In any efficient healthcare system, the creation of value determines the rewards of all major stakeholders in the system. Outputs are the major measures of value in a healthcare facility. Therefore, more care does not necessary imply that the healthcare system has improved the quality of care to patients. It is challenging to any healthcare system to shift its focus from volume to value. The results that a healthcare facility would achieve relative to the inputs are the major determinants of value. Therefore, value is closely related to efficiency. Healthcare facilities should ensure that they set goals as a cost containment. Cost reduction should not be the major focus of value proposition in patient care. This is due to the fact that it would lead to the creation of a false perception of ‘saving’ to the detriment of value-addition in patient care services. Outcomes are the enumerator in measuring value in a healthcare setting. Any medical condition does not have a single outcome that captures the results of the care given to the patient. Instead, various multidimensional outcomes portray the benefits of the type of care. Adding value to patients helps in improving patient outcomes. This improves the efficiency of the healthcare facility.
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Discussion
The delivery or healthcare involves various organizational units. However, the units do not portray a clear picture of the boundaries they create. The proper unit of measuring value should incorporate the services and activities that determine the ability of the healthcare system to meet the needs of the patients effectively. The medical condition determines the patients’ needs. Therefore, it is vital for the healthcare facility to address the needs in an integrated way. Paradise Hospital, Inc. is a healthcare facility that offers services to suit various healthcare needs. Some of the medical conditions that the healthcare facility deals with include hypertension, vascular diseases, renal diseases, and retinal diseases. As such, the medical conditions that the hospital deals with would help in determining the areas that need value addition (Graban, 2011).
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The type of care that Paradise Hospital offers would also determine how it add and measure value. The hospital offers primary and preventive care. Therefore, the hospital should measure value in terms of patients who have similar healthcare needs. Healthy children and adults, people who have chronic diseases, and frail elderly patients have different healthcare needs. Therefore, the hospital should strive to add value to the healthcare services provided to the above parties. The information of the outcomes of the value addition strategies would help in determining the effectiveness of the strategies (Kolker, 2011).
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To care for a patient or population with various medical conditions involves different interventions from various medical practitioners who have different specialties. Therefore, Paradise Hospital should ensure that healthcare providers create value during the entire cycle of care. This is due to the fact that the benefits of one intervention would improve the effective of the intervention in the next level of care. This would necessitate the healthcare providers to share accountability for value. Paradise Hospital should ensure that its care providers are not ‘focused factories’ that focused on narrow group of patients who have specific needs. The hospital should have integrated practice units that are accountable for the entire care of the medical conditions or complications that patients my face (Kolker, 2011).
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Due to the fact that care activities are interdependent, the benefits of value-addition activities are usually revealed over time. They determine the long-term outcomes of the care. These include recovery, occurrence of treatment induced by the treatments, and need for longer ongoing treatment interventions. The above factors may help in measuring the effectiveness of the value-addition activities. Tracking the patient outcomes and costs longitudinally would help in measuring value-addition initiatives in a healthcare facility. A healthcare facility should measure the value for patients who have multiple medical conditions differently. It should measure value for each condition independently. This enables the healthcare facility to compare the results of different patients. It would also help in comparing the ability of healthcare givers to care for patients who have complex medical conditions (Kolker, 2011).
Governance priority, organizational culture, IT infrastructure, and care delivery priorities. The senior executives are vital in the creation of high-value institutions. This is due to the fact that they are responsible for the financial health and quality of care that that the healthcare facility provides. The management of Paradise Hospital should ensure that it implement measures that would help in improving value in the healthcare facility. It should engage with all staff of the organization to evaluate their performance and determine areas that need improvement. The management of the healthcare facility should foster increase its appreciation and rewards to the efforts of its staff. This would necessitate the healthcare facility to improve its reward structure and engage in productive meetings on the concerns of its staff. This strategy would help the hospital achieve high-value care (Graban, 2011).
The management of the healthcare facility should strive to create a culture of continuous improvement. Creating a culture of continuous improvement would help in sustaining the efforts of the management of Paradise Hospital to improve quality and value of care. The healthcare facility should undertake a critical evaluation of its tasks and processes. This would help in reducing waste and improving outcomes of the initiatives. It would yield significant savings for the healthcare facility. The management should ensure that it implement strategies that would improve its commitment to real-time learning. It should ensure that it teaches its staff on problem solving techniques. It should also remove barriers to improvement, which would ensure that employees excel in their duties. The reward structure would be a critical feature that would help in cultivating a culture of continuous improvement in the healthcare facility. The above measures would ensure that staff provide high-value care to patients (Grunden & Hagood, 2012).
The infrastructure components of a healthcare facility are the foundation stones that facilitate the delivery of high-value care. The infrastructural elements act as the initial steps that enable a healthcare facility to start providing high-value care. IT infrastructure would play a critical role in enabling Paradise Hospital to provide high-value care. The hospital should ensure that it has automated reliable information systems. This would not only help in improving the quality of care of the hospital but also improve the efficiency of administrative and other processes of the hospital. Therefore, the Paradise Hospital should implement electronic health records (EHR) systems and other technologies that would help in improving the connectivity and efficiency of various processes. Automating order entry would help in reducing paperwork and increasing efficiency. Technological tools would also help in improving the management of the resources of the hospital (Crosson & Tollen, 2010).
It is the duty of any healthcare facility or system to ensure that it provides safe, effective, and patient-centered care. The care should also be equitable, timely and efficient. Paradise Hospital should ensure that it implements a healthcare delivery system that increases open collaboration with patients. It should also increase team-based care within the healthcare facility. Paradise Hospital should ensure that it delivers care in the most appropriate setting. This would help in reducing costs and improving the outcomes of care. The healthcare facility should ensure that allows patients to monitor the key indicators of their diseases. It should also strive to reduce hospital readmissions that expensive to patients. The results of care provided would improve if the efforts are supplemented by team-based care and other strategies that would promote integration of care (Graban, 2011).
Conclusion
Paradise Hospital should strive to improve the value of its care. This would necessitate the hospital to undertake different strategies. It should strive to determine inefficient processes within its operations. The hospital should ensure that its activities are patient-focused. It should ensure that it uses its existing resources to improve value of care.
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