Introduction
Being an advanced healthcare organization., the UVMC has a wide variety of advantages. However, the expanded options for interprofessional collaboration that it provides for its staff members is, perhaps, the one that deserves the greatest praise. Specifically, the UVMC has a set of programs geared toward interprofessional education and the resulting collaborative healthcare practice (University of Vermont Medical Center, n.d.).
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
For example, the organization offers programs for interprofessional training supported by the Clinical Simulation Laboratory, where participants are invited to collaborate in the settings that mimic the ones of an actual healthcare facility impeccably (University of Vermont Medical Center, n.d.). The described opportunity allows staff members to acquire clinical skills as expeditiously as possible while also retaining a clear grasp of the importance of competence and accuracy in performance.
Moreover, interprofessional collaboration observed in the UVMC setting contributes to the opportunities for developing effective information management. Specifically, patient data is transmitted from one expert to another via a specifically developed data management infrastructure so that all experts involved can remain updated on the status of patients and can access the data relevant to specific cases (University of Vermont Medical Center, 2020). The described strength leads to a significant improvement in collaborative interprofessional decision-making and, consequently, in patient outcomes.
Weaknesses
At the same time, the emergence of the pandemic has led to the discovery of several major dents in the UVMC’s approach to financial management. Specifically, the absence of a coherent strategy for controlling the expenses taken to manage the pandemic has resulted in a major financial damage to the facility (University of Vermont Medical Center, n.d.). Namely, according to a recent report, in 2020, UVMC sustained a total loss of $21.3 million (University of Vermont Medical Center, n.d.). As a result, in 2020, the UVMC failed to meet its target outcome by $28 million (University of Vermont Medical Center, n.d.). The lack of control over the costs and the resulting failure to control the damage presently is a tremendous weakness over which the UVMC must develop control in the nearest time.
Opportunities
Currently, the UVMC has several essential opportunities, including one of expanding its interprofessional cooperation by encouraging professional exchange and outsourcing from other healthcare and nursing organizations. For instance, the improvement in the health delivery system by making every process within it coherent and aligned with the key objectives. For this reason, an integrated delivery system will have to be developed. The creation of the integrated framework will create an opportunity for improving the quality of care despite the current financial issues (Mom et al., 2019). Specifically, operational integration across different parts of the UVMC will
Threats
The failure to meet the set financial objectives and the resulting inability to meet patients’ needs are the main threats that the UVMC is currently facing. Specifically, without a strategy that will allow for minimizing the costs and controlling the current expenses while also keeping the quality of the services aligned with the standards, the UVMC may fail to provide its patients with the necessary services. Moreover, with the increase in costs, the UVMC may ultimately face the risks of bankruptcy (“UVM Health Network confronting $21.3 million financial toll of COVID-19,” 2020). Thus, a more cost-efficient method of handling financial issues is needed.
Recommendations
Currently, the UVMC needs to revisit its approach to managing its financial assets. Due to the mismanagement of costs and the failure to allocate the available financial assets in a way that will benefit both the organization and its stakeholders, including patients, the UVMC is facing the threat of bankruptcy (Wen, 2021). Therefore, to avoid further financial complications, the UVMC will need to seek investors willing to support the company in its attempts to improve public health outcomes.
Additionally, the UVMC will need to continue its interprofessional cooperation policies to ensure further progress and active knowledge sharing. For this reason, opportunities for conducting online conferences and seminars during which participants will be able to share their experiences, knowledge, and innovative ideas (Meywati et al., 2021). Moreover, the UVMC will need to reinforce its evidence-based research (EBR) alongside with the evidence-based practice (EBP) approaches that it has been implementing in the clinical setting.
Finally, it is crucial to pursue opportunities for creating an improved integrated framework for health delivery. An integrated health delivery system is expected to resolve several major concerns observed in the healthcare and nursing setting presently, namely, those ones of access and the shortage of healthcare experts. Indeed, since nurse shortage has been a source of increasing concern in the healthcare setting, strategies for retaining a proper nurse-patient ratio must be introduced (University of Vermont Medical Center, 2020). Thus, the UVMC will continue to provide services of the required quality.
Conclusion
Due to the presence of strong premises for interprofessional collaboration and the further improvement of the organization’s service delivery system, the UVMC will have to continue focusing on research and development, as well as the enhancement of its EBR and EBP processes. Furthermore, to avoid complications in managing the company’s financial assets, the UVMC will need to seek the support of investors. Once the specified solutions are introduced, the UVMC will be able to continue providing high-quality services and promoting interprofessional cooperation.
References
Meywati, N., Handaru, A. W., & Wiralaga, H. K. (2021). The influence of innovation strategies and services quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty during the Covid-19 pandemic. The International Journal of Social Sciences World (TIJOSSW), 3(2), 64-73.
Mom, T. J., Chang, Y. Y., Cholakova, M., & Jansen, J. J. (2019). A multilevel integrated framework of firm HR practices, individual ambidexterity, and organizational ambidexterity. Journal of Management, 45(7), 3009-3034.
University of Vermont Medical Center. (2020). Strategic initiatives. Web.
University of Vermont Medical Center. (n.d.). Interprofessional education & collaborative practice.
UVM Health Network confronting $21.3 million financial toll of COVID-19. (2020). VermontBiz.
Wen, Z. (2021). Research on financial management and information construction of public hospitals. Open Journal of Business and Management, 9(5), 2240-2247.