Alan Zuckerman Over the Last

Alan Zuckerman

Over the last several years, the health care industry has been undergoing a tremendous amount of challenges. Part of the reason for this, is because of: the aging population of Baby Boomers and increasing demand for health care services are causing costs to rise dramatically. At the same time, this means that the number of services that are being provided must be increased, to address these changes in the population. In the case of Massachusetts General, they have been adapting to these changes by: offering a number of different facilities and programs throughout Greater Boston. However, the increasing demand has meant that the staff is often overwhelmed, which can result in errors. A good example of this occurred, when a patient's heart monitor failed and there was no backup system to alert the staff of the problem. (Kowalczyaki, 2010) This is troubling, because it shows the overall challenges that all health care organizations are facing, in adjusting to the changes that are taking place inside the industry. To fully understand how Massachusetts General is adapting to these challenges requires: looking at the strategic planning approaches that were discussed by Zuckerman. This will be accomplished by: examining which of the approaches are used by the facility, those that could help improve strategic planning, studying an approach that can be implemented and the barriers that can be foreseen. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights, as to how Massachusetts General is adapting to the underlying challenges that they are facing.

Consider the approaches described by Zuckerman in relation to Massachusetts General- are any of these approaches currently used?

An approach that is currently being used by Massachusetts General is: to achieve real benefits for the community and patients. This is when you are looking at the advantages that are being realized from: the different services that are provided by the facility. In this case, they are standing out from competitors by: illustrating how they are one of the oldest and most prestigious hospitals in the country. Evidence of this can be seen, by looking no further than the fact that the hospital was named: as one of the top tier health care organizations in the United States by U.S. News & World Report's. This is important, because it shows how they are embracing some of the different principals outlined by Zuckerman. (Zuckerman, 2006, pp. 3 -- 15) ("Hospital Overview," 2011)

Which of the approaches described by Zuckerman do you feel would help improve strategic planning at Massachusetts General?

Attacking issues, the reason why this was chosen, is because the hospital has often not been on the forefront at addressing its different challenges. In some cases, this can mean that they will conduct an investigation and wait for some kind of report. This is problematic, due to the fact that some issues (such as: patient safety) needs to be addressed immediately. As a result, this is illustrating how the hospital needs to be more proactive in: addressing the underlying issues that could be affecting the facility in a timely manner. (Zuckerman, 2006, pp. 3 -- 15) ("Hospital Overview," 2011)

If you were to implement any of the approaches proposed by Zuckerman at Massachusetts General-which ones would you attempt to implement and why?

The approach that is being proposed by Zuckerman that should be used at Massachusetts General is: establish and utilize a structured progress monitoring system. This needs to be implemented because, the death of patient at the hospital from: the lack of a back up monitoring systems, shows a deficiency of oversight in this area. As a result, the organization needs to create various procedures that can monitor: the different systems and alert staff in the event that there is some kind of malfunction. This will help to prevent a situation like what occurred at the facility not long ago. (Zuckerman, 2006, pp. 3 -- 15) ("Hospital Overview," 2011)

What barriers to implementation could you foresee?

Some of the possible barriers that could stand in the way of any kind of implementation of the plan include: the inability of staff to respond to these changes and a lack of funding for the different initiatives. Whenever you are introducing new programs to a facility, the staff will be resistant to new changes. This is because the culture inside the organization is resistant to these approaches, as it could lead to more uncertainty at the hospital. To overcome these issues, you must have an approach that will help everyone to: see the benefit of the changes and how it can improve care. A lack of funding for different initiatives could take place, when administrators feel that the costs of having such a program are not worth the benefits. This can be problematic, as it will lead to similar situations down the road.