Administration of the healthcare services in the particular sector of medical and healthcare is a very sensitive and risky job, as it includes direct dealing with human lives. Managing the quality and standards of the services and making sure that the patients are receiving the best kind of services, both in terms of treatment and courtesy. The basic aim of any healthcare facility or any healthcare professional is the management, maintenance, protection and improvement of human health in the region, no matter what the cost is. Considering all this, a manager has to be very careful while taking any decision
Discussion
As it has already been established, the management of a healthcare facility is not an easy job. It involves handling a number of tasks at the same time and planning things intelligently, designing different rules and policies and implementation of these rules and policies. The tasks or responsibilities of a manager also include taking corrective action in case of negligence of these rules and regulations by any employee, introducing and implementing a change in the organization and then overcoming the resistance to this change (if necessary).
Corrective Action Plan
Corrective action plan refers to a plan or strategy (or a set of strategies) that is used to improve the behavior and actions of an employee, when all the other methods, like counseling and even, have failed to work. A corrective action plan in the healthcare facility gains much more importance as it involves the sensitive nature of the job as well. The manager takes special care while designing and the strategies that the balance of the organization is not disturbed.
Handling Resistance to Change
In the current age of technology, change is the only inevitable thing. Any person living in the current era has to get used to change and should accept it. The healthcare industry is no exception; the technology has also undertaken the industry by storm and the hospital industry is stormed by the latest equipment and the instruments being used in the industry. Sometimes, the employees or the medical staff find it hard to accept the reforms in technology and adjust to the new technological changes. It is the duty of a manager to keep a check that the employee is comfortable in accepting the new change in technology. If the employees resist while accepting the new transformation, he or she should know how to handle that resistance (Rajalakshmi, Mohan, & Babu, 2011).
Organizational Charts
Organizational charts are the elaborated diagrams or maps that tell about the hierarchy in an organization. These diagrams are let the employees understand the chain of command in a firm.
Mission and Value Statements
The specific goals and objectives of any organization or company are defined in its mission and vision statement. All the organizations, whether working globally or locally, has a distinct vision and mission statement that clarifies its goals and objectives, and the reason for its existence in the market. This information is very much necessary and beneficial for the stakeholders as well as the customers of the company.
Type of Healthcare Facility
The type of healthcare facility under discussion will be a fully functional hospital completely equipped with all the latest equipment and technology.
Locations
As the planning of this healthcare facility is in its very initial stages, the management only plans to open this healthcare facility in two rural locations of Houston. Further dispersion of these healthcare units depends upon the success of these two units.
Propriety Facility
This medical facility or unit will be both profit earning venture and a non-profit organization as well. The needy patients will be treated free of cost and the patients who can afford the treatment will have to pay the charges for the treatment.
Inpatient/ Outpatient Requirements
As it will be a fully developed hospital, the healthcare facility will provide the services of both in-patient and outpatient to the people who come for treatment in the hospital. Depending upon the requirement of the treatment, the patients will be provided the residential facility in the healthcare facility. There would be both the kinds of facilities; ward and the private rooms, however, the wards facility will be given more space as compared to the private rooms.
Staff
This healthcare facility will incorporate the services of both general physicians and specialists as well. There will be surgeons in this hospital along with psychologists, psychiatrist, physiotherapists, oncologists, endocrinologists, gynecologists, dentists, etc. The management will also hire trained and professional paramedical staff like nurses and ward boys, along with cleaners and sweepers.
Conclusion
In short, it has become quite evident that managing a healthcare facility is not a piece of cake. A manager or administrator has to take care of a lot of things which involve the location of the facility along with the no and type of staff, the type of equipment to be installed in the facility, the security, and safety measures to be taken in consideration while managing the healthcare facility. It is the utmost responsibility and it should be the priority of every healthcare facility manager to keep its employees motivated as well as ready for the change. Deciding the mission and vision statements for the healthcare facility, and then making sure that all the staff is following it, is also the part of the duties of a healthcare facility manager.
Part 2
Introduction
Ethics is an essential part of an individual's daily life. A person is expected to present the best of ethical and moral character in order to have balanced and peaceful surroundings. Ethics are extremely important in society as they affect the way people make decisions and live their lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy.
Just like the observation of ethics and moral values is necessary generally in the society, it is also compulsory to follow these ethical standards in the field of healthcare and medicine. The field of medical and healthcare is full of ethical dilemmas and implications. Medical professionals – even who carry great values and high integrity- can be often unprepared for these kinds of situations. There are two reasons behind this strong implication of ethics and morality especially upon the professionals of the medical sector. The first and foremost reason is the immense power; the power that is bestowed upon them with the knowledge that they gain in their extensive academic career (Hoagwood, Jensen, & Fisher, 2014). Power never comes alone; it is always accompanied by huge responsibility. Hence the power of knowledge that the doctors have, and the trust that their patients put on them, place a strong responsibility on them to act ethically.
Discussion
Five Ethical Standards to Be Implemented at the Healthcare Facility
As it has already been established, the area of healthcare and medicine is based upon a number of ethical standards and implications but the basic and the most important ones are only five (Vayena, Salathé, Madoff, & Brownstein, 2015). These five values and standards are extremely important and need to be implemented in every healthcare facility and unit, in order to keep the profession of medicine in high esteem.
Autonomy
The first and foremost ethical value that needs to be implemented is autonomy. It implies that the patient has complete autonomy while taking any decision or action regarding their medical treatment.
Beneficence
This ethical value implies that any procedure practiced or implemented by the medical practitioner over the patient should only be practiced for a greater good and with good intention.
Non-Maleficence
This ethical value implies that any medical or surgical procedure being followed by the medical professional should not harm the patient involved or the society in general.
Respect for Human Rights
This ethical implication was implemented upon the medical professionals after the formation of the United Nations in 1945. The rule regarding the human rights states that:
"No organ or tissue removal may be carried out on a person who does not have the capacity to consent under Article 5."
Solidarity
The concept of solidarity is closely linked to the concept of European healthcare perspective that focuses more on the service to the community, universal welfare, and the selfless wish to provide healthcare to everyone without discrimination.
Two Exemplary Companies with Good Ethical Standards
Many companies all over the globe are fulfilling their moral duty and being very ethical by nature to serve the different causes. These companies or organizations have set and implemented various ethical standards that are not only beneficial for their employees and their long or short-term goals but also to the society and the market they are operating in. In addition to this, these companies not only follow these ethical standards themselves but spread public awareness in the society so that the general public may also follow it them and make the world a better place to live. To of such exemplary companies, which do not only follow the moral values and ethical standards themselves but also urge other people to follow suit are mentioned below:
Lush Cosmetics:
The management and the employees at the Lush Cosmetics take the issue of ethics and morality very seriously and is famous for speaking up for human rights, animal rights, protecting the environment and raising their voice for humanitarian causes.
Dell Computers:
One of the top-ranked computer manufacturers in the world considers ethics and morality as the most important task for them. Dell takes the matter of global warming and pollution very seriously and tries to manufacture as many products out of recycled material as it can.
Presentation of Information to the Staff during Orientation and Training
One thing in which the medical staff and the physicians both need to be trained in the implementation and following of these ethical standards in the healthcare facility, as sometimes the medical or paramedical staff becomes negligent of these rules and regulations, which can result in grave consequences. Physicians may have learned the importance of ethics especially bioethics during their academic life but most of the complaints come from the paramedical staff lime nurses, ward boys, and even sweepers. So special heed needs to be taken while hiring and appropriate methods of training need to be adopted to make the staff aware of the sensitivity of various ethical issues related to this profession.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, it can be concluded that it has become very evident from multiple research and studies that healthcare is an extremely tough and sensitive field. The medical professionals have to follow certain ethical standards and implications in order to provide their services to the full extent. These implications and responsibilities come with the extreme knowledge and power that has been bestowed upon them. These ethical values include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, respect for human rights and solidarity. Many organizations including Lush Cosmetics and Dell Computers have implemented these standards and are successfully running their operations.
References
Hoagwood, K., Jensen, P. S., & Fisher, C. B. (2014). Ethical issues in mental health research with children and adolescents. Routledge.
Nat Natarajan, R. (2006). Transferring best practices to healthcare: opportunities and challenges. The TQM Magazine, 18(6), 572-582.
Rajalakshmi, K., Mohan, S. C., & Babu, S. D. (2011). Decision support system in healthcare industry. International Journal of computer applications, 26(9), 42-44.
Robbins, C. J., Bradley, E. H., Spicer, M., & Mecklenburg, G. A. (2001). Developing leadership in healthcare administration: A competency assessment tool/Practitioner application. Journal of Healthcare Management, 46(3), 188.
Vayena, E., Salathé, M., Madoff, L. C., & Brownstein, J. S. (2015). Ethical challenges of big data in public health.