Challenges in Health Care
Challenges in Health Care
Maggie Clark
HCA 421
September 25, 2010
Between health care reform and the sagging economy; health care organizations have to adapt their direction and strategies in order to insure their future. Although these are challenging times they also present great opportunities. If an organization can be highly adaptive then they will have the competitive advantage. In this time of health care reform and legislation organizations need be highly adaptive to change, able to overcome innovation road blocks, and have the ability to build that competitive advantage to make a difference for their patients. We will explore how health care organizations adapt their strategies and direction through the following areas: information technology advancements, quality of healthcare, skilled workforce, pay for performance and improved access to health care. Heritage Valley Health System is a progressive community-based healthcare system located in southwestern Pennsylvania. In partnership with more than 400 physicians and nearly 4,000 employees, they offer a broad range of medical, surgical and diagnostic services at their hospitals, community satellite facilities, and physician offices. Heritage Valley’s operates its own electronic health record (EHR) and electronic prescription program. This EHR system allows for automatic medical record delivery to Heritage Valley associated physicians and hospitals instantly (Heritage, 2011). I recently got a very clear picture of just how wonderful the EHR system is when a patient is experiencing health issues. I first visited one of the two health systems hospital emergency rooms and was greeting by prompt easy check-in. When you arrive at the emergency room you have a Heritage Valley care card that you swipe on a computer monitor that instantly pools all your information up for your quick confirmation. The next step is that you are quickly triaged by a nurse team and escorted to a room for evaluation
Maggie Clark
HCA 421
September 25, 2010
Between health care reform and the sagging economy; health care organizations have to adapt their direction and strategies in order to insure their future. Although these are challenging times they also present great opportunities. If an organization can be highly adaptive then they will have the competitive advantage. In this time of health care reform and legislation organizations need be highly adaptive to change, able to overcome innovation road blocks, and have the ability to build that competitive advantage to make a difference for their patients. We will explore how health care organizations adapt their strategies and direction through the following areas: information technology advancements, quality of healthcare, skilled workforce, pay for performance and improved access to health care. Heritage Valley Health System is a progressive community-based healthcare system located in southwestern Pennsylvania. In partnership with more than 400 physicians and nearly 4,000 employees, they offer a broad range of medical, surgical and diagnostic services at their hospitals, community satellite facilities, and physician offices. Heritage Valley’s operates its own electronic health record (EHR) and electronic prescription program. This EHR system allows for automatic medical record delivery to Heritage Valley associated physicians and hospitals instantly (Heritage, 2011). I recently got a very clear picture of just how wonderful the EHR system is when a patient is experiencing health issues. I first visited one of the two health systems hospital emergency rooms and was greeting by prompt easy check-in. When you arrive at the emergency room you have a Heritage Valley care card that you swipe on a computer monitor that instantly pools all your information up for your quick confirmation. The next step is that you are quickly triaged by a nurse team and escorted to a room for evaluation
References: Heritage Valley Health System. 2011. Your health, Our care, Its all connected. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from http://www.heritagevalley.org/. Horton, S., & Johnson, R.. 2010. Improving Access to Health Care for Uninsured Elderly Patients. Public Health Nursing, 27(4), 362. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. (Document ID: 2079018281).