Reference no: EM132870973

Question 1.

You are the newly hired chief knowledge officer (CKO) for a midsized hospital in a semiurban area of the country. Your first task is to develop the organization's strategic plan that will shape the development of a comprehensive network of services for their community.

The organization provides the usual array of inpatient services expected in a moderate-sized community hospital. A local nursing home and retirement community is for sale, and the organization is considering the purchase of that agency. Several physician practices are also interested in alliances with the hospital. There is a local county health department that provides some clinic services, primarily for the uninsured.

You've been asked to give a presentation to the board of directors on options to restructure the local delivery of healthcare services. The hospital's president has asked you to focus your presentation on the common elements a comprehensive delivery system attempts to accomplish and to highlight innovative methods of restructuring. The presentation will lay out the requirements of an integrated healthcare delivery system.

Question 2.

You are the newly hired director of human resources for a small rural acute care hospital. You've been on the job for just 3 months and have spent that time getting to know your organization and its employees. You have responsibility for all of the usual human resources functions, including the training and development functions. In addition, you have the additional departments of volunteers and the hospital chaplaincy services.

You've identified a number of serious organizational issues and are beginning to get the picture as to why the hospital's president was anxious for you to begin work as soon as possible and told you that you had your work cut out for you. Turnover is high, there are many vacant positions, and you have a very high number of positions that are considered hard-to-fill positions because of national workforce shortages. There is what you consider to be a very high number of EEOC complaints over the past 5 years for an organization of this size. Employees were blunt in their criticisms of the organization and its management in an employee survey conducted just prior to your coming.

The board of directors and the president know that they have serious human resource issues that are affected by management practices that will have to change in order for them to compete in the local healthcare market as an employer of choice. As in any healthcare organization, fiscal resources are limited, but the board is firmly committed to investing in a well-developed human resources plan that will decrease the turnover and stem the ever-growing turnover and vacancy rates. The president has asked you to attend the next board of directors meeting to share your insights and assessment along with the first draft of your plan for addressing these serious issues. What will you tell them? Outline the focus of your presentation that you will speak from when you meet with the board in terms of the issues you have identified, as well as the initial focus of your plan for turning this around.

Question 3.

Some physicians and for-profit healthcare organizations in your area are refusing to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients for a variety of reasons. These controversial decisions present not only a major breakdown in the healthcare delivery system but also in the financing of healthcare for many individuals across the nation. Delineate at least three reasons that physicians have for refusing to participate in these governmental programs, as well as the impact this practice has on other areas of the healthcare delivery system.

Question 4.

As the Executive Director of the National Association for Managed Care Organizations, you know that national healthcare reform will bring about revolutionary changes in your member organizations. Public outcry for changes has been heard loud and long, Congress is calling for reform, and providers are extremely frustrated with how you pay and control the utilization of services.

You have been invited by a congressional panel to discuss how the managed care industry can be overhauled to provide a more customer-responsive product and address the issue of national healthcare costs.

What are the high-priority issues that will need to be discussed to overhaul the managed care industry? What stakeholders must be considered in the planning process?

Question 5.

You are the VP for human resources and have been given the assignment to come up with a new healthcare benefits plan that will improve healthcare services for your employees and control costs. The health plan currently covers services provided in traditional healthcare services. You employ approximately 1,800 employees and already determined that in this new plan, you want to provide traditional healthcare services and further develop a more preventative and wellness focus. Your goal is to improve the health of your employees, thereby saving monies in your illness coverage as well as nonproductive time in sick days.

You are meeting with the president of the health system this afternoon. What will you propose to him or her?

Question 6.

You are the Corporate Vice President for Quality for the Patient-First Healthcare System, a national system of acute care hospitals located throughout the United States. Your organization has just approved additional monies for developing a new quality management system. Each hospital has implemented its own quality management program. Some of the programs demonstrate stellar results and high levels of patient satisfaction, whereas other hospitals have less impressive results.

Your focus as the corporate VP for quality is to develop a corporate quality improvement program that will be standard throughout all of the company's hospitals. It must also be responsive to any local needs or issues. How will you craft that plan? What will you include in your plan? Include some specific examples of what you might measure. How will you get buy-in from your individual organizations that already have their own plan?

Question 7.

You've just been hired as the chief operating officer (COO) for a new orthopedic physician practice. The new practice was created by two previously independent practice groups that had fines for governmental regulatory violations, as well as suspected fraudulent billing practices. You just received a subpoena to appear in court and testify as to your role in the organization and knowledge of billing practices.

All you know is that the clinic has recently purchased a new electronic billing and medical records system that is HIPAA compliant. One goal of this electronic system is to address all areas of compliance and to clean up any issues from the past. It is also intended to position the new organization as an organization with an impeccable reputation for compliance. Articulate your vision for this plan and the components that are required for its success. How will you justify the expense associated with your plan? Keep in mind that you have a newly formed organization and differing organizational cultures.