Strategic remedial action plan for healthcare organization weaknesses

Health Care Leadership Problems

Over the last several years, the issue of effective health care leadership has been increasingly brought to the forefront. Part of the reason for this, is because the number of medical errors has been increasing and the quality of services being provided are declining. A good example of this can be seen in a study that was conducted by the Society of Actuaries. They found that the total number of medical errors are accounting for $19.5 billion in losses every single year. Out of these figures, the amount of mistakes that were avoidable was 25%. Commenting about these finding Jim Toole (the Managing Director) said, "This report highlights a singular opportunity for both improving the overall quality of care and reducing health care costs in this country. Of the $19.5 billion in total costs, approximately $17 billion was the result of providing inpatient, outpatient, and prescription drug services to individuals who were affected by medical errors. Although this cost is staggering, it also highlights the need to reduce errors and improve quality and efficiency in American health care." ("Nationwide Medical Errors Cost $19.5 Billion," 2010) This is significant, because it shows how these issues are the result of a lack of leadership at many health care facilities across the country. In the case of the California Hospital Medical Center, they are facing similar challenges. To address these issues requires examining how effective leadership can deal with these problems. This will be accomplished by: examining the resources that will be needed and the effectiveness of the plan. Once this occurs, it will provide specific insights as to how charismatic leadership can address these challenges.

The resources that will be needed

The different resources that will be required to address the challenges facing California Hospital Medical Center include: effective navigation, communication and forming alliances. Navigation is when the leadership is giving the staff members a way forward. This is accomplished by executives having enough charisma to be able to: create a sense of purpose and vision among personnel. Over the course of time, this will reduce the loss of key employees at the facility and the increasing amounts of medical errors. (Turner, 1999, pp. 162 -- 163)

Effective communication is when you are working with the staff members to understand the problems that their department that they are facing. At the same time, you want to hear their different views about how they think improvements could be made. One possible tool that could be utilized to understand these different viewpoints is the use of anonymous surveys. This is when you are surveying a host of individuals, with the intention of finding out their honest views about: the facility and what challenges they are facing. Once this occurs, it will help to provide specific insights about what are the root causes of the problem. (Turner, 1999, pp. 162 -- 163)

Forming alliances is when you are seeking out staff members (who are inside the various departments) that are supporting the need for change. The idea with this part of the strategy is to be able to form some kind of a partnership with these individuals. This will help to push for a transformation inside the organization. As, these people will help to provide everyone with: a reason for adapting and pushing others to do so (indirectly). (Turner, 1999, pp. 162 -- 163)

Once this occurs, you could then have these individuals become a part of a committee. They will have the responsibility for making specific recommendations about how this can be implemented. This is important, because this will help everyone to realize that some kind of change is occurring inside the facility. Over the course of time, this will lead to shifts in the operating environment by giving people reason for embracing these changes. (Turner, 1999, pp. 162 -- 163)

The Effectiveness of the Plan

To determine the effectiveness of the plan the Human Resources department will conduct anonymous surveys every six months. They are interested in: the views of patients and employees about the facility. This will help to provide specific insights about: possible issues that could be affecting the hospital and ideas for dealing with them. (Kovnar, 2008, pp. 34 -- 61)

At the same time, there will be outside consultants posing as employees, who will carefully monitor the kinds of services that are being delivered. Where, they will also look for structural weaknesses inside the organization. This is important, because the findings from the consultants can be used to: corroborate and identify new changes that could be taking place. At which point, they can make specific recommendations about how to address the problems. If this kind of approach can be utilized, it will help California Hospital Medical Center to avoid the challenges that are affecting so many other hospitals around the country. This is the key in being able to mitigate these effects and begin redefining the organizational environment. (Kovnar, 2008, pp. 34 -- 61)