Organization Selection

The initial step in developing your strategic management plan project is to select a health care organization. For more information on topic options, refer to the course project description. When you have determined your organization, begin analyzing the following factors that affect your particular type of health care system:

Key socioeconomic factors: The demographics of the patient base, employee base, and physician base. These can include references to the aging population, increasingly ethnically diverse population, and staffing or physician surpluses and shortages.

Legislative factors: Anticipated incremental legislative reforms versus large-scale reforms and legislative agendas aimed at reducing costs. Check both federal and state legislative actions.

Policy factors: Regulations and policies external to the organization via government agencies and the Joint Council on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

Organizational factors: The overall organizational structure, the emphasis on recruiting and retaining talent, and the emphasis on staff development and competency building.

Service delivery factors: Consider causes of change in care delivery due to the evolving practice of medicine, advances in pharmacology and technology, and the emphasis on cost effective care.

Technological factors: Medical equipment development, research advances, and information technology systems implementation.

Current economic factors: The national and local economy and its affect on planning, reimbursement, and financial stability of the organization.

Write a two-page paper analyzing the factors and their effects on your organization. Be sure to consider the long-term effects of these factors on your organization. Focus your long-term analysis on five and ten years from now. You will add to this section as the term progresses.