Financial Management Issue
The financial problem that my organization is currently trying to address is connected with inadequate expectations of patients as per value-for-money factor in proposed medications and interventions. Satisfaction of the majority of the patients depends on the costs of treatment since they are convinced that cheaper health care decisions imply poor quality of the outcome (Enthoven, 2014). Although the problem is not urgent for my health care facility, the number of conflicts between patients and health care specialists is too big to be ignored.
Organization Description
The organization I currently work for is a hospital, which has been providing healthcare services to patients for over 70 years. The facility hires more than 10,000 employees. The hospital is managed both directly and indirectly: The Board of Directors exercises control through managers who are charge of all activities. The hospital’s major mission is to provide the best quality of treatment services to patients.
Individuals Interviewed
The individuals interviewed work in the finance department. The views of two people are to be discussed: the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Accountant. They were selected since it is their direct duty to allocate financial resources. CFO believes that the problem is pressing but not dangerous for the image of the organization. She is convinced that the hospital has strong strategies and financial policies to be able to satisfy its patients. The major task is not to allow the problem of unmet expectations to affect the financial plan. The Accountant, who is responsible for the hospital’s financial statements and correcting errors in financial documents, is also sure that the books are well-balanced and there are no reasons for deep concerns.
Measures Taken
The organization has focused its attention on patients who are able to select between treatment options so that they could make both the most effective and satisfactory choice. Additional training for nurses was organized to address such cases avoiding conflicts. Patient education concerting value-for-money factor was provided to those who believed that they were discriminated.
Future Steps and Potential Blocks
Although the steps taken proved to be rather successful, the organization is still looking for a permanent solution that would allow avoiding unnecessary expenditures while increasing patient satisfaction. The following steps are to be taken:
- increasing resources so that patients could be sure that all their needs are satisfied;
- encouraging investors through dissemination programs;
- providing comprehensive training for nurses;
- partnering with other hospitals having the same problem;
- hiring more nurses to avoid dissatisfaction caused by understaffing;
- expanding the budget to ensure that the hospital could operate within its means.
However, on the way to improvement, the following blocks and challenges are expected (Jeffreys, 2015):
- change resistance of the staff;
- discrimination on the basis of the insurance type;
- higher turnover rates due to conflicts with patients;
- less time for patients due to participation in training programs.
Statistical Data
The number of patients affected: >500 patients admitted per day.
The number of staff affected: app. 4000 nursing professionals.
Admission rates: decreased by 2% since 2016.
Total satisfaction level of patients: decreased by 13% since 2016.
Actual costs of patient dissatisfaction: $79-128 of additional expenditures due to the change of treatment.
Further Discussion
Besides financial implications of patient dissatisfaction, it can also considerably damage the reputation of the hospital since patients tend to discuss their experience with others (Jeffreys, 2015). According to statistics, each patient tells 12 people about his/her negative hospital stay. On the contrary, those who do not feel any financial discrimination are likely to recommend their physicians in 91% of cases (Kitapci, Akdogan, & Dortyol, 2014).
References
Enthoven, A. C. (2014). Theory and practice of managed competition in health care finance. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Jeffreys, M. R. (2015). Teaching cultural competence in nursing and health care: Inquiry, action, and innovation. Berlin, Germany: Springer Publishing Company.
Kitapci, O., Akdogan, C., & Dortyol, I. T. (2014). The impact of service quality dimensions on patient satisfaction, repurchase intentions and word-of-mouth communication in the public healthcare industry. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148(1), 161-169.