Strategic Planning Reflected in Mission and Vision Statements
Strategic planning approaches usually address issues of mission, vision, and organizational values. In the previous milestone, the mission of Kaiser Permanente Clinic was to reduce the waiting period by shortening the waiting list for emergency care for its patients. This meets patients’ expectations of getting patient-centered health care services. The clinic’s management has good intentions and plans for the business because this will automatically attract many clients due to their satisfaction and quality of services (Swayne, 2016).
Reducing the patient’s waiting period on the waiting list is a good idea and an organizational objective. Most patients going through different aims usually feel neglected, not recognized, and bored by the clinic services if subjected to long waiting queues before being attended to. However, this will also come with other burdens, which must be included for success. For example, the solutions state that there must be an increased workforce. Increasing the number of doctors, nurses, and other office resources for efficient work will help realize these goals.
However, the clinic must be willing to expand the salary and wage bill. This will also strategically help increase sales volume. The clinic will expand its operation and realize growth. Increasing customer satisfaction helps increase acceptance. This means that more patients will clock into the Kaiser Permanente clinic to get quality services, boosting sales revenue for the organization.
I would therefore support this strategic plan because the salary and wage bill increase, which is an expense, will lead to an increase in sales volume, which can be termed as growth. Giving patient-centered medical services helps increase their confidence in clinic services and trust in the clinicians’ competence (Lieu & Madvig, 2019). Emergency care is critical and needs to be prioritized because it involves patients in critical condition who face death threats if not properly attended to. The long waiting list is dangerous, and it is wise for the Kaiser clinic management to prioritize this in its mission statement.
Prevailing Issue and Strategic Planning Concerns
The prevailing issue in question in this case study is the long waiting times for patients in the clinic. The problem affects not only Kaiser Permanente clinics but also the healthcare sector (Swayne, 2016). The best strategic planning for these concerns is increasing the workforce and resources, such as equipment. This will guarantee timely attention to such patients and probably reduce deaths and severe pain associated with late medical attention, even after reaching the hospital. Therefore, Healthcare organizations should be careful when formulating their mission and vision statements because these are priority objectives and should always involve patient-centered care.
Role of the Healthcare Manager in Strategic Planning
Healthcare managers have several roles to play in terms of strategic planning. A manager must be able to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the institution on time before suffering the effects. Managers must understand the organization’s plan, vision, and mission and devise ways of achieving such goals (Lieu & Madvig, 2019). Therefore, the health manager ensures all gaps are filled by acquiring the necessary resources and providing moral guidance toward achieving the goals.
For example, the manager must prioritize expanding the working space by building more offices and equipment for patients in emergency care. This must come before bringing in the doctors, and other issues follow in the order of priorities. Healthcare managers are team players and role models to their employees. They must encourage and motivate other workers to realize the strategic plan’s objectives, and they always need help making medical equipment and other resources available on time for efficiency and convenience.
Key Stakeholders and Their Influence on Strategic Planning
Managers
The key stakeholders involved in this strategic plan include the management, organization employees, and the patients themselves. Of course, other stakeholders are less key than those mentioned above, like the government, which issues the permits and licenses for operations, creditors, or organizational supplies (Swayne, 2016). However, it is the clinic management’s duty and responsibility to make all operating factors available.
Some of their duties include ensuring enough skilled staff, building enough space for patients and staff offices, assembling necessary medical equipment, and meeting all clinic dues on time, among other duties. Management should notice any shortage, poor performance, or lack of service and take the necessary interventions to address such a situation. Such issues affect the whole institution, but it is their role to play by taking part in strategic planning and coming up with solutions to such problems.
Employees
The employees are the other stakeholders affected by these issues of poor services, as stated in the mission statement. While they try to provide services, it becomes difficult when they need more resources. Being few workers means working long hours without a break, being overworked, and getting poor patient ratings because of delays and confusion (Swayne, 2016).
Patients
The third affected stakeholders are the patients because they are the main clients. Patients have a role in strategic planning because, through their complaints, compliments, and opinions of the management, their cries can be heard. There is also the freedom to communicate ideas, complaints, or recommendations through the institution’s suggestion box. These methods directly or indirectly contribute to the strategic planning scheme.
References
Lieu, T. A., & Madvig, P. R. (2019). Strategies for building delivery science in an integrated health care system. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 34, 1043-1047. Web.
Swayne, D. (2016). Kaiser Permanente: Creating a No-Wait Emergency Department. Richard Ivey Publishing.