Introduction
The targeted primary care practice has been growing fast. This fact explains why the practice’s partners have decided to expand their clinic and serve more clients. Unfortunately, the new office will not see patients because of a number of constraints (Wong, 2015). At the same time, Mary Jones has decided to quit as the operations manager (OM). This discussion highlights some of the major barriers that might have derailed the implementation process.
Potential Barriers
There are major barriers that might have affected the implementation of the proposed office. The first one is the lack of proper coordination throughout the process. The expansion of the primary care practice is a complex process that must be executed in a professional manner. The clinic tasked the OM with the implementation process (Chaudoir, Dugan, & Barr, 2013). Mary Jones was forced to monitor, oversee, and implement the project alone. This decision must have played a critical role in undermining the success of the primary care practice.
The second potential barrier is the lack of adequate resources throughout the implementation process. Without proper coordination and collaboration, Jones was unable to get the required resources to support the implementation process. The manager must have found it hard to acquire the right instruments and equipment (Wong, 2015). Consequently, it was impossible to have the office ready within the stipulated six months.
The other outstanding challenge that might have affected the implementation is the failure to involve all the relevant stakeholders (Chaudoir et al., 2013). In order to support the process, the institution should have collaborated with the relevant care providers, nurses, IT experts, targeted community members, and strategists. The presented scenario shows conclusively that these key stakeholders were not involved throughout the process. It is agreeable that the clinic burdened Mary Jones with the task of the implementation. Consequently, the primary practice clinic was unable to realize its goals within the stipulated period.
Addressing the Barriers
The best approach towards expanding a health care business is through the use of a powerful change model. The proposed new office can be grouped as a change in the clinic. That being the case, the primary care practice should have treated the new implementation as a powerful organizational change. This means that a powerful model such as Kurt Lewin’s Change Theory could have addressed the problem. Mary Jones would have found it easier “to introduce the key players to the proposed change through freezing, changing, and refreezing” (Chaudoir et al., 2013, p. 8). By so doing, the targeted stakeholders would have embraced and supported the proposed office.
From the very beginning, the partners should have designed a powerful strategic plan. The plan would have outlined the major activities that should have been completed within a specified period of time. The plan would have outlined the unique roles and responsibilities to be undertaken by different stakeholders (Chaudoir et al., 2013). Similarly, the right tools, resources, and finances would have been presented in order to support the project throughout its lifecycle.
The other potential strategy that might have addressed the existing barriers is the use of powerful decision-making and communication models. The absence of effective communication must have affected the project. The emerging problems were not addressed efficiently during the implementation phase (Wong, 2015). That being the case, a powerful communication channel can play a positive role in dealing with the existing barriers. This approach will ensure the office is properly licensed, fully staffed, and adequately equipped.
References
Chaudoir, S., Dugan, A., & Barr, C. (2013). Measuring factors affecting implementation of health innovations: A systematic review of structural, organizational, provider, patient, and innovation level measures. Implementation Science, 8(22), 1-14.
Wong, C. (2015). Connecting nursing leadership and patient outcomes: State of the science. Journal of Nursing Management, 23(1), 275-278.