The healthcare industry is evolving at an unprecedented rate. The industry is too complex and confusing for many people to comprehend. Technological advancements, change in government policies, ageing population and evolution in service structure brings uncertainty to this industry. This requires healthcare organizations to effectively plan strategies to improve care, enhance success and at the same time ensure efficiency and affordable costs for health care services. The main purpose of a strategic plan is to bring an organizations operation in line with its statement mission, vision and values. The healthcare sector has changed to a more patient centered and valued based approach while many providers still rely on traditional strategic models. Thus, organizations must recalibrate their strategies to suit the demand and the changing trends in health services provision.

Strategic Planning Process

According to Ginter et al (2018), strategic planning in health care organizations involves the following steps.

The first step in strategic planning is to develop or review the mission and vision of the organization. though the organization have an existing mission and vision statements, it is essential to continually review them due to the ever-changing environment in the healthcare industry. This ensures that all departments are aligned to the mission and vision of the organization and support its overall business strategy.

The next step involves business and operational analysis of the organization. Strategic planning enables an organization to understand its strengths and weakness and evaluate the external threats and opportunities. This is where the organization conducts its business environment analysis which is important in executing and sustaining the strategic plan. The organization evaluates its organizational culture and structure, personnel and access to recourses, market capacity and operational efficiency and capacity.

After carefully evaluating the external and internal business environment, strategic options and developed and selected. This is based on the resources and capacity of the organization. The strategies should be narrowed down to accommodatethose strategies that are in alignment with the guidingprinciples. The ground rules determine the decision making process. For instance, the organization might be considering to outsource certain services or merge with another organization to achieve its objectives. The organization must also consider whether it has the capacity and personnel to achieve the set goals.

The next step involves execution of the strategic plan. This requires active involvement of all employees and other stakeholders. The plan is communicated to all levels in the organization. Each department has a role to play in assuring the success of the plan. The clear goals set in the initial stages dictate the roles of the stakeholders in the plan.

Once the strategic assessment and planning is complete, the leadership establishes and appropriate budget and allocates resources to implement the plan. Appropriate funding, staffing and other resources are put aside to ensure the implementation of the plan. Without proper or adequate funding and staffing, the strategic plan might fail.

Lastly, the strategic plan is reviewed. Constant and continuous reviews of the plan is essential for effective strategy deployment. The plan should include mechanisms to report issues, challenges and obstacles that can hinder or change the direction of the strategic plan. The review process also evaluates the success of the plan and ensures the timelines are achieved.

Once the strategic plan is executed, the healthcare organization is bound to experience benefits that will ensure operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. The strategic plan cultivates a culture of innovation in the organization. it also improves decision making, resource allocation and provides an opportunity for the organization to identify high-performing opportunities to become more efficient and improve the revenue cycle. All this is achieved while establishing processes to deliver high quality patient-centered care.

Penn Medicine Strategic Plan

Penn Medicine is a medical school and hospitalin Pennsylvania. Its mission is “to advance science through research, provide outstanding patient care and community service, and educate future leaders in medicine.” Its plan is to improve health care through innovation, integration and impact. The organization pioneers innovation through scholarships in medicine and biomedical research. this involves training, recruiting and supporting the faculty and empowering its community of physician-scientists to be innovative in their respective fields. Penn Medicine also promotes free exchange of ideas and initiatives in providing health services. This integration of all players accelerates the achievement of its mission. The organization also develops scientific platforms and information technology necessary to ensure the staff deliver high quality care. It also encourages future researchers and clinicians to carry out transformative research to achieve change in the health industry.

The realization of the importance of technology transfer in medicine represents the future in the health industry. This is worth maintaining in the strategic plan. Penn Medicine prioritizes translational research, which offers an opportunity to promote new discoveries to effective therapy, devices and products. The strategic plan also aims at creating a lasting health impact on local and global health industry. This involves engaging with selective global partners to expand the experience of the faculty. Most of the objectives of the strategic plan aims at addressing the challenges in the dynamic health industry.

The only addition that can be recommended to the strategic plan is to devise ways to improve the revenue cycle for the organization. The strategic plan concentrates on the operational side of the organization without considering the business aspect of the organization. Revenue cycle is also essential to the success and survival of any health organization. Without sufficient cash flows, Penn Medicine might struggle to implement the strategic plan and achieve its mission. The plan should develop methods to address anticipated revenue declines due to constrained federal and state budgets.

References

Ginter, t., Duncan, J., & Swayne, n. (2018). Strategic management of health care organizations. Wiley.

Penn Medicine’s Strategic Plan. Www1.pennmedicine.org. (2021). Retrieved 30 September 2021, from http://www1.pennmedicine.org/strategic-plan/priorities/strategic-plan.pdf.