The Care Transformation Initiative was implemented to more strongly align the objective of excellent patient care with the workplace needs of physicians. It has been mentioned above that the new vision of Methodist Healthcare focused on strengthening the institution as an excellent and desirable workplace for physicians. As such, an educational strategy has been implemented, which is focused on upgrading the knowledge and skills of physicians in the health care of patients.

Other strategies that could help in the goal of aligning the right persons for the right locations of work and care include a thorough assessment of institutional, physician and patient needs. This could be done through an IT program that matches various questionnaire responses. In this way, skills and needs can be matched for the optimal outcome in patient care.

In creating strategies for attaining goals, it is also important to focus specifically upon each goal and implement strategies to reach it. In this, any number of methods can be helpful, including IT systems, hiring experts in the field (such as finances), or conducting field research by means of for example questionnaires or interviews. As such, it is important to retain a clear focus of objectives and goals, rather than again to create a number of different entities that eventually evolve on their own without integrating.

5. Communicating the Vision

Methodist's product is the organization's primary contact with customers. As such, communicating this to the public is of vital importance. It should be emphasized that the organization strives for absolute excellence of care in terms not only of outcome, but also in terms of the customer's association with the organization. Price and promotion should be integrated during the communication process. There should be a focus on value for money, as well as the fact that customers are considered on the basis of income and that care takes precedence over income level on the basis of equity. It is also important to focus communication on the regions in which Methodist...

Communication is especially important with establishing the organization in new locations, where competitors are already present. In this, it is important to emphasize Methodist Healthcare's unique focus as opposed to its rivals.
6. Financial Condition

Methodist Healthcare's finances show and improvement with every passing year. From 1998 to 2000, its market share increased from 24.9% to 26.1%, making it the second largest institution of its sort in the region. In terms of fees, the greatest healthcare contributor to Methodist's inpatient cure service database is Medicare. In addition, the organization has agreements with several commercial insurance entities, health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations, supplementing its income considerably. A considerable growth in income from 1999-2001 is attributed to a growth in patient numbers during these years. Concomitantly, expenses such as salaries and benefits, supplies and equipment, and provision for bad debts also increased. It is important to note that, while Methodist Healthcare's financial situation is generally healthy in terms of profit, supplementary income will have to be arranged to cover the planned strategies for the future.

7. Recommendations

In order to maintain its strategic momentum, it is recommended that Methodist Healthcare remains focused not only on customer care, but also upon the human resources that provides the utmost of excellence in service. As such, it is necessary to retain hiring practices that adhere to the philosophies and ideals that are established as Methodist's core principles. In this, communication between management and employees is essential.

It is also important to develop the educational initiative that has been projected for the organization. As such, education takes place in very practical terms, and quality assurance follows. Educating all physicians and other employees regarding the principles of excellent patient care will raise the public confidence in Methodist Healthcare.