Middleville Regional Healthcare

Running head: MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 1

Name

Institution

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 2

Middleville Regional Healthcare

State of Healthcare

As one of the healthcare providers for a population of 350,000 people, Middleville as

well as its rivals act as not-for-profit initiatives (organizations). From the table below of the three

organizations, as a consulting firm, the aim is to address measures that can be implemented by

the facility to enhance performance and service delivery. The findings of the study will be shared

with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the governing board of the healthcare facility.

Table 1: Middleville, Brierfield, and Greystone Health Care Systems

Name

Beds

Admissions

Census

OP Visits

Births

Expenses (000)

Personnel

Middleville

575

13,000

350

221,000

2,300

$125,000

2,000

Brierfield

380

17,000

260

175,000

1,200

$130,000

1,875

Greystone

350

10,000

180

40,000

900

$80,000

1,200

Role of Governing Board

In trying to improve the performance of healthcare organizations (HCOs), there are core

elements that are considered, and the governing board must play a crucial role. The board of

Middleville must establish the mission, values, and vision as well as agreeing to the standard

care goals of the entity to ensure guidance. Secondly, the board must work hand in hand with the

chief executive officer by creating a functional relationship, performance rewarding and

evaluation of official conduct. Besides, the focus must also be on policies, recruiting and

development of compensation plans for managers ensure success from management. The board

must also approve budgets and strategies aimed at implementing missions and accomplishing

tasks (Culica & Prezio, 2009). These should entail investment and consistent financing. Further,

the board must ensure the quality of service to patients and accountability of care of the

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 3

organization as a mechanism to retain competent employees. Lastly, consideration must be given

to result oriented compliance in meeting goals, regulations, and laws that govern HCOs and use

them as a benchmark to improve community health and services.

Evidence-Based Management

Performance measurements and indicators

As Middleville aims to provide quality healthcare to its community, the facility can use

three performances, namely; QPS (Quality of physician services), QHS (Quality of hospital

services) and QHP (Quality of health plans). With these three, the healthcare facility can ensure

that the feedback from the studies can foster development in sectors that are lacking. Notably, for

the success of the performances, quantifiable and measurable indicators must be employed.

These include participation rates, some patients served and prevalence rates. Hence, by

integrating the performance measurements and the signs, Middleville can find ways of

improving its patient care quality.

Importance of performance measurements

Quality of Physician Services.Using this performance measurement guarantees the

possibility of the HCO monitoring the service delivery of their physicians. According to

Bobocea, Gheorghe, Spiridon, Gheorghe, & Purcarea (2016), with the number of patients

recorded for every physician; it becomes accountable and accessible to identify areas that

Middleville can improve to warrant better care provision to the community. As a result, with the

QPS in service, patient outcomes and experience about the care can be ascertained by the

medical facility.

Quality of Hospital Services.The of use of this measure fosters the identification of

areas Middleville can improve. It is essential to deploy QHS as it offers patient feedback about

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 4

the quality of services availed by the physicians and nurses in meeting the concerns of the

patients. As Mosadeghrad (2014), notes that by using this measure concerns about how quickly

patients are cared for are provided, and the report can suggest strategies to improve the state of

the health care system. Therefore, with the QHS, Middleville can measure the safety and quality

it avails to the community.

Quality of Health Plans.The focus of all HCOs to offer better health plans to their

clients. Through QHP insurance plans can be discussed for low income earning families and for

those with no coverage. Primarily, this ensures that different strategies can be introduced for

people with no insurance policies in place. Consequently, this eliminates the possibility of some

patients missing out of health facilitation (Mosadeghrad, 2014). Thus, with the use of QHP,

Middleville is confident of improving services to patients by initiating new plans for its

community.

Recommendations to Middleville Governing Board

Admission

Following the study of its competitors, it is imperative that Middleville focuses on the

admission rates of the facility. By taking on more patients, the hospital can expect to make more

financial gains than before. Given the changing trend of healthcare systems, the number of

people admitted to contributes to the revenue returns for the facility. It is suggestible that by

adding on the number of beds, the hospital can take in more patients will maximize its revenue

return. According to Dafny & Lee (2016), healthcare executives must focus on the competition

that can buy them more patients attending their care rather than going to other facilities.

Similarly, in the case of Middleville, it is vital that caregivers are trained so that when the

increase in admission takes place, patients are satisfied with the care experience. Therefore,

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 5

consideration should be turned to increasing the number of entries at the same time offering

training to caregivers to maintain the quality of services at the HCO.

Emergency Department

One of the top significant features of any HCO is its emergency department, and this goes

out to Middleville that more investment should be turned towards improving this sector. While

the admission of more patients brings in more revenue, patients should not feel squeezed to pay

for services that do not meet the quality of services. It is crucial that department in enlarged to

meet the demand and also should be stocked with the necessary personnel and equipment. As

Dafny & Lee (2016), highlight, it is crucial that the standard of services availed by a healthcare

entity remains consistent as any change can mean a move to the other service provider. Hence, in

case of such a scenario, it would be detrimental to Middleville if it losses clients to rivals.

Therefore, the recommendation of the consulting firm hinges on the hospital investing in its ER

to assist its patients; thus, increasing its income generation.

Online Patient Check-In

As the level of technology is advancing, the need to increase OP visits lies in the

integration of online check-in systems that can enable patients to confirm their appointments

with physicians. With the mobile application, it becomes more approachable for Middleville to

avail its patients with information through mobile platforms to fill out without filling

inconvenienced during their visits. In recent studies, it has been found that physicians are less

elaborative in assessing all symptoms of the patients. On that note, the use of mobile apps like

HER has seen patients’ address their concerns through online forms provided by HCOs before

having an appointment (HITC Staff, 2015). Therefore, by having online systems initiated

Middleville can expect to lessen the burden of having long queues waiting to see physicians as

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 6

more care can be administered in the shortest time possible while also improving the quality of

services.

Implementation of Data Information Systems

Costs

While Middleville can decide to implement a data information system, it must contend

with the fact that along with it come prices. Among these costs include software and hardware

purchases. First, the cost of acquiring medical software to complement the activities of the

facility would require an investment from the hospital to install and maintain it. According to

Shekelle, Morton & Keeler (2006), the cost of supporting systems ranges from $3 to $5 million

dollars annually. Notably, this would also take into account the hardware to use for the system.

As such, it is imperative that the board takes into consideration the investment plan to ensure

provision of better services once this initiative is accepted. Therefore, from the costs of today’s

information systems, the board can have reservations about undertaking the effort of investing in

the technology.

Benefits

By implementing an information system, Middleville will have all services and

information about its patients in one place. The incentive of having a DIS lies in the fact that

physicians can store patient information in one central location which eases the retrieval of

medical records once the patient has a change in physicians or for recommendation to other

centers. Besides, with the system in place, Middleville will be able to know the number of

patients it services and the rate of morbidity in the community. Similarly, the information from

the patients will serve as a database to determine the course of development for the future of the

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 7

facility (Shekelle, Morton & Keeler, 2006). Therefore, it is beneficial for the governing board to

invest in an information system as it will ease the operation of the healthcare facility.

Implementing Systems

Middleville will have an in-house system and a mobile support application to ensure that

patients stay in touch with the medical facility. First, the center will recommend a housing

facility to have the support center for the software by having a server room. The timeframe for

implementing this system is estimated to be two months, followed by one month of testing. Once

the first phase is accomplished, the next stage involves having a mobile application integrated

with the system to ensure that the patients can access the system online. Due to the need to

guarantee compliance, the phase is estimated to last close to two months as a pilot study is

conducted on different mobile platforms and feedback from patients on areas of improvement.

Hence, with the plan, Middleville can expect to have a system running alongside its traditional

mechanisms of service delivery.

Promoting Employee Satisfaction

Mentoring and Training

The human resource of Middleville can implement a mentoring package that can be

integrated with individual oriented goal feedback systems to develop relationships with the

healthcare organization. By having an oriented system that focuses on the role of the employees

it builds confidence and a sense of appreciation which then foster retention. According to

Yazinski (2009), through mentoring, an entity can develop a junior by pairing them with

experienced personnel in an area. As such, this leads to transfer of skills, competencies and

shared goals which can create individual goals and expectations. In the same sense, through

training, the sense of value among employees is reassured. Therefore, through training and

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 8

mentoring Middleville can ensure the satisfaction and retention of its current number of

employees.

Benefits and Compensation

One of the most empowering incentives in the medical realm is compensation and

rewarding of employees. As an entity dealing with the loss of employees, it is advisable that the

human resource department offers competitive rewards, salaries, bonuses, health plans and

pension to their staff. Further, tuition plans and extra time pay can incentivize members to give

to the betterment of the medical center. However, as suggested by Yazinski, the rewarding

systems should be meaningful, and impact the perception employees hold about the organization

(2009). It is imperative that for all rewards promised by the department, the entity must meet

them or fulfill them. Therefore, is advisable that Middleville through its human resource consider

benefits and compensation plans as approaches to satisfying their employees as well as retaining

them.

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE 9

References

Bobocea, L., Gheorghe, I., Spiridon, S., Gheorghe, C. M., & Purcarea, V. L. (2016). The

management of health care service quality. A physician perspective. Journal of Medicine

and Life, 9(2), 149-152. Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4863505/

Culica, D., & Prezio, E. (2009). Hospital Board Infrastructure and Functions: The Role of

Governance in Financial Performance. International Journal of Environmental Research

and Public Health. 2009 Mar; 6(3): 862–873. Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672389/

Dafny, L. S., & Lee, T. H. (2016). How to Bring Real Competition to the Health Care Industry.

Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/12/health-care-needs-

real-competition

HITC Staff. (2015). Practice Fusion EHR Releases Online Mobile Patient Check-In. HIT

CONSULTANT. Retrieved from: http://hitconsultant.net/2015/02/12/practice-fusion-

ehr-releases-online-mobile-patient-check-in/

Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2014). Factors Affecting Medical Service Quality. Iranian Journal of

Public Health, 43(2), 210-220. Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4450689/

Shekelle, P., Morton, S. C., & Keeler, E. B. (2006). Costs and Benefits of Health Information

Technology. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US);

(Evidence Reports/Technology Assessments, No. 132.) 3, Results. Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK37984/

MIDDLEVILLE REGIONAL HEALTHCARE

Yazinski, S. K. (2009). Strategies for Retaining Employees and Minimizing Turnover.

HR.BLR.COM. Retrieved from: https://hr.blr.com/whitepapers/Staffing-

Training/Employee-Turnover/Strategies-for-Retaining-Employees-and-Minimizing-

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