Public Health Sector Is Now

¶ … public health sector is now more than ever pressured to respond to incremental challenges. The living standards of the population have increased, and so has their life expectancy. Also, the baby boomer generation is beginning to retire and it must be noted that these people were financially sound individuals, accustomed to adequate medical treatment and attention. These features are likely to create more pressures for the public health institutions, yet their ability to serve these new challenges is decreased by the political instabilities in the field and the limitation of the available financial resources.

In such a context, a component of a proposed solution is represented by the integration of it developments and strategic management within the public health institutions. This feature is assessed throughout the table below, with the aid of SWOT analysis.

Internal strengths

Internal weaknesses

Evolutionary and adaptability capacity

Dedicated staffs

Limited finances

2. Limited staff skills

3. Doctor vs. manager

External opportunities

External threats

1. The commodization of technologies

2. Collaboration with partners

1. Economic crisis

2. Increasing social pressures

Internal strengths

1. Evolutionary capacity -- Hospitals have evolved significantly throughout the past recent years and they have the capacity to evolve

2. Dedicated staffs -- the employees in the health care sector are highly trained, skilled and dedicated to the success of the entity, supporting as such the well-being of the patients and the system

Internal weaknesses

1. Limited finances -- the purchase of it applications and strategic management tools and consultancy requires additional investments, which are problematic within the public health care sector, due to financial shortages in the system

2. Limited staff skills -- the medical staffs are limitedly able to use strategic tools, as they come to focus on the medical act

3. Doctor vs. manager -- strategic management is difficult to implement while hospitals are still unsure who should lead them, namely doctors or specialized managers (Taylor, 2010)

External opportunities

1. The commodization of technologies -- Due to sustained evolution in the field of Information Technology, the it applications have become more easily accessible to users, at levels of both affordability as well as ease of usage

2. Collaborations -- the hospital is able to develop several partnerships with parties in both it as well as strategic management

External threats

1. The economic crisis -- which generates additional financial weaknesses

2. Social pressures -- as the society undergoes several economic and demographic changes, it comes to generate more demands from the medical sector.

In light of these findings, it would be useful for the public health care institutions to implement the following recommendations:

The creation of a managerial model based on the combined leadership of both doctors as well as specialized managers, in an integrated manner, based on open communications and collaborations and with the constant attention on the attainment of the institutional objectives