Schneck Medical Center: The Baldrige Award Schneck

Schneck Medical Center: The Baldrige Award

Schneck Medical Center: Overview

The Schneck Medical Center according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology -- NIST (2011) "is a 93-bed nonprofit hospital providing primary and specialized services to the residents of Jackson County, Ind., and surrounding communities." The facility as NIST (2011) further points out, offers a variety of primary care services including but not limited to cancer care, noninvasive cardiac care, and joint replacement.

Established in 1911, the facility was amongst four organizations selected by the President and the Commerce Secretary in 2011 to be awarded the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. This particular award in the words of NIST (2011) is "the nation's highest Presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership." It is important to note that apart from the Baldrige Award, Schneck Medical Center has been a recipient of several other awards including the Outstanding Patient Experience Award. This particular award is presented to healthcare facilities whose overall patient experience can be regarded outstanding.

Like many other organizations, Schneck Medical Center has a precise mission, a clear vision, and well -defined values. The facility identifies its mission as; "to provide quality health care to all we serve" (Schneck Medical Center, 2013). On the other hand, its vision is "to be a healthcare organization of excellence….every person, every time" (Schneck Medical Center, 2013). While the vision and mission spelled above capture Schneck Medical Center's basic purpose and where it sees itself going forward, the core values of the healthcare facility indicate what principles and beliefs it holds dear. The values it identifies as being critical in this case are "integrity, compassion, accountability, vision, and excellence" (Schneck Medical Center, 2013).

The HSA Principles and Practices: Their Implementation and Impact

With regard to its performance, i.e. how it administers its health services, it is important to note that according to NIST (2011), Schneck Medical Center has its attention firmly trained on health care measures that are largely patient-focused. On this front, NIST (2011) observes that "on 17 of 22 core measures reported for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), SMC scored 100% in the second quarter of 2011." Secondly, it is also important to note that taking into consideration its value-based purchasing (VBP), the facility registered impressive performance. According to NIST (2011), VBP makes use of a rewards and consequences system to evaluate the accountability of care providers especially with regard to the cost and quality of their services. Next, Schneck Medical Center has also in the past embraced approaches that further enhance its ability to put its patients first. The facility's insistence on high performance has led to the adoption of better treatment options, a better working environment for employees, and a healthier society.

The Administration of Financial Planning and Measurement of Financial Performance Within a Health Care Organization: An Evaluation of the Relevant Skills

Executives in a healthcare setting need a variety of skills to effectively oversee financial planning and measure financial performance. Some of the skills that could come in handy in this endeavor include but they are not limited to financial management, negotiation, and strategy formulation skills" (Hernandez and O'Connor, 2009). To effectively participate in the measurement of financial performance, executives also need to have sound financial analysis skills, and attention to detail.

When it comes to the administration of financial planning, executives in a healthcare setting are expected to plan for and determine the affordability of the strategic goals and objectives of an entity. Strategy formulation skills have got to do with the ability to correctly assess the environment and define the objectives and/or goals of the organization, identify the resources necessary to achieve the said goals and objectives, and come up with a plan on how resource gaps could be addressed. On the other hand, financial management skills have got to do with the ability to formulate budgets, evaluate how effective current operations are from a financial perspective, make sound financing decisions, manage and control financial risk, etc. It is important to note that unlike is the case with executives in other fields of management; healthcare managers face many other unique challenges. These challenges include but they are not limited to issues to do with working capital management. The challenges in this case come about because as McLean (2003, p.4) observes, "accounts receivable are owed by third-party payors and because of the potentially life-threatening situations that can arise because of inventory stockouts." Still on the administration of financial planning, yet another skill worth mentioning is the ability to negotiate. In seeking to rein in costs, executives could from time to time be called upon to negotiate for better terms with employees or even suppliers. Should that be the case, sound negotiation and communication skills could come in handy.

Financial Planning Skills Benefits: How they Paired Against what was Realized by the Schneck Medical Center

Better financial skills had a significant impact on what the facility realized. To begin with, NIST (2011) points out that the reported results of Schneck Medical Center compare "favorably to the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 'A-' and 'AA' rated median levels." This in the opinion of the institute is as a result of excellent management of its cash position, cash flow, as well as operating margin. Secondly, the market share of Schneck Medical Center in Jackson County is largely impressive. The facility also boasts of an impressive market share in the neighboring Jennings County. With Schneck Medical Center's favorable performance expected to continue being impressive going forward, the facility could use its enhanced strength to further improve its ability to offer quality health care. The facility has also in the past embraced a number of measures that have enabled it to improve not only its operating margin but also bond rating (NIST, 2011). As the institute further points out, currently, the facility "exceeds S&P's 'A-' rated benchmark for five significant financial metrics" (NIST, 2011).

Ethical Considerations Relevant to Healthcare Service Establishments

From time to time, health care professionals are faced with unique ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas are in most instances founded on rights, responsibilities, as well as personal freedoms. To begin with, healthcare service establishments often find themselves walking a tight rope between making a profit and providing quality or charity care to patients. On one hand, health care organizations have an obligation to act in the best interests of their patients, i.e. By offering quality and affordable care. On the other hand, the said organizations must pay their bills and meet their day-to-day expenses. They have a mandate to keep their doors open. How should a healthcare service establishment balance between these two conflicting mandates?

Healthcare service establishments also have to decide on whether or not to accept gift items from both medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. Indeed, nurses and doctors are many a time targets of such gifts which include notepads, books, branded wrist watches and wall clocks, etc. While one school of thought could claim that accepting such gifts could result in a conflict of interest of some sort, there are nurses and doctors who may not have any qualms about accepting such gifts.

Yet another ethical consideration healthcare organizations have to grapple with from time to time is the issue of handling ordinary vs. VIP patients. VIP patients in this case could include prominent members of the society, family members of trustees, etc. Preferential treatment of those in this group could take various forms including but not limited to longer physician/specialist consultations or even shorter waiting time. Should VIP patients such as well-known and influential celebrities be treated differently than ordinary patients?

Confidentiality is yet another ethical consideration that could be considered relevant to healthcare service establishments. Confidentiality in the words of Hester and Schonfeld (2012, p.72) "is an obligation healthcare providers (or others) have after someone discloses information to them…." Healthcare practitioners have a moral and legal obligation not to disclose information about their patients to third parties. In this case, information arising from either personal conversations or medical reports must be kept confidential. It is however important to note that in some instances, medical practitioners may be obligated to disclose the otherwise confidential information in relation to the health of a patient to authorities. A good example of such a situation is when patients with unexplainable gunshot wounds appeal for treatment (Lyer, Levin, and Shea, 2006). Under such circumstances, a health care provider should alert the police so that the necessary action can be taken. It is however important to note that in some insistences, medical practitioners are faced with issues whose determination cannot be aided by verifiable rules and procedures. A good example of this is when a doctor is privy to information regarding the true paternity of a child. Does the doctor in such a case have an obligation to share what he or she knows with the father?

The Collection, Sharing, and Protection of Patient Information

As I have already pointed out elsewhere in this text, health care institutions must take deliberate measures to protect the privacy of their patients. For this reason, they cannot disclose any information that could end up jeopardizing the privacy of patients. Ensuring that patient information is safe is not an easy task. But what exactly is information privacy from a health care services perspective? Privacy in the words of Lyer, Levin, and Shea (2006), is "the right of individuals to determine when, who and to what extent information is transmitted about themselves." In the final analysis therefore, information privacy with regard to the protection of patient information should be seen as all those measures taken by health care institutions to protect the medical information of patients from disclosure to third parties. Information to be protected in this case may therefore include but is not limited to lab results, progress reports, treatment notes, diagnoses, etc. Some of the new developments that have in the recent past created new challenges on this front include but they are not limited to internet health services, electronic health records, etc. Coupled with government regulations, these developments present information security teams and compliance departments with a raft of unique challenges.

Increasingly, healthcare organizations are embracing electronic health records (EHRs) in an attempt to improve information exchange and enhance efficiency. In basic terms, electronic health records are computerized medical records. They are usually contrasted to paper files that were in popular usage several years ago. In addition to being a source of great inconvenience, paper-based records also led to significant time wastage as access to them was largely manual. For the most part, they were also largely insecure. Access controls in this case were not as effective as they could easily be compromised.

Although their relevance cannot be overstated, EHRs have presented new challenges as far as the privacy of patient information is concerned (Lyer, Levin, and Shea, 2006). It is important to note that to enhance their accessibility and availability, such records must not only be searchable but also linkable. In that regard, were people of dubious character to gain access to such information, a lot of damage could be caused. Some features of EHRs such as the copy and paste function could also be used to compromise the integrity of data. A progress report could for instance be "cloned" easily using this feature. EHRs (unlike paper-based records) also present a real risk of hacking or manipulation of information.

Keeping information secure during transmission is yet another concern for health care organizations. A recent survey according to Greene (2012) "found out that 73% of physicians text other physicians about work." According to the author, no form of communication is without risk. Suck information could be intercepted, shared and/or misused. For this reason, keeping the information transmitted during the said exchange secure could be regarded a major challenge when it comes to protecting patient information. Health care organizations should in an attempt to minimize chances of interception provide physicians with mobile devices that are encrypted to ensure that patient information remains confidential. Further, from time to time, health care organizations could be required to share patient information with their other centers located elsewhere. The means of transmission should in this case be secure enough to guarantee the safety of the information being transmitted.

Yet another challenge that health care organizations could encounter in their handling of medical information is the enhancement of proper handling of the same by employees including but not limited to physicians, nurses, and IT personnel. It must not be lost on us that from time to time; physicians and other medical personnel can gain access to patient information for administrative, payment, or even treatment purposes. Health care organizations must therefore put measures in place to ensure that whenever physicians and other medical personnel gain access to the said information, they handle the same appropriately and as per the laid down guidelines. Controls should also be put in place to make sure that only authorized individuals have access to patient information. In so doing, a health care organization could make use of biometric identification mechanism such as fingerprint readers, iris scans, etc. Where passwords are used, they must be changed regularly (Lyer, Levin, and Shea, 2006).

Although controlling access to patient information is important, it cannot guarantee complete protection. In the final analysis therefore, there exists a need to embrace additional measures of protecting patient information. The said additional measures could include but they are not in any way limited to training employees on the need to protect patient information (Lyer, Levin, and Shea, 2006). A health care organization should also have in place a clear privacy policy. To protect the integrity of their systems and hence the privacy of patient information, health care providers must also take decisive steps aimed at securing not only the underlying IT infrastructure but also access to clinical applications. The steps taken in this case must be efficient enough to secure patient information from identity thieves, hackers, and even insiders not authorized to interact with such information. The need to monitor the measures in place so as to ensure that they comply with government regulations cannot also be overstated. The only time health information about a patient should be released to third parties is when the said release is permitted by the client or when the law prescribes or demands the release of such information.

Lessons Learnt with Regard to Effective Communication

To succeed in any career, an individual must be an effective communicator. This is more so the case in the health care industry where constant interaction with patients and other health care professionals is a norm rather than a rarity. Indeed, effective communication comes in handy in not only the sharing of information but also in persuasion and management of conflict.