HA515 Unit 5 Discussion

Using as reference:

Title: Leadership For Health Professionals 

Edition: 3rd (2017) 

Author: Ledlow, Coppola 

Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Book 

ISBN: 978-1-2841-0941-2 

Read Chapter 9: Leadership and the Complex Health Organizations: Strategically Managing the Organizational Environment Before it Manages You 

Discuss in not less than 200 words 

Explain how you would integrate the current external environment factors in the health industry. Translate your interpretation into a critical list of action items for a health organization. Develop this list for the organization in terms of a strategic plan, directional strategies, external and internal environment, organizational culture, and any other factors that you deem important for organizational positioning and survival. 

In two different paragraph with no less than 75 words give your personal opinion to Benjamin Schortgen and Kerri Collins 

Kerri Collins 

It is important for leaders in healthcare to understand the external environment and how it affects the organization.  There are macro and micro forces of the external environment.  Examples of macro forces include legal, political, and economic forces.  Examples of micro factors include technology, research and education, public policy, and healthcare financing.  These multiple forces help influence change in healthcare. (Gerald R. Ledlow, James H. Stephens, 2018)

A healthcare leader must consider all these external factors and create plans for the constant changes they present.  Finances is one of the most pressing action items as this contributes to the success of any organization.  Assessing the threats and opportunities of the Affordable Care Act and its impact on the organization is key.  With different government administrations come changes to the ACA.  An ongoing SWOT analysis to analyze these threats and opportunities is imperative.  Another action item would be to assess the legal and ethical forces of the organization.   Understanding the threats of legal and ethical issues is important to the success of the organization.  With ethical issues, organizational culture is also important.  A leader can develop a culture towards the mission and vision of the organization with ethical decision-making being at the core.  Another action item is ensuring the healthcare organization is promoting prevention and wellness.  Even amongst the healthcare employees, prevention and wellness are important.  Threats and opportunities could also be assessed with the possibility of offering employee health services within the organization.  This is just a small list of action items to consider as there are many that affect healthcare daily. (Mohammad, 2014)

Mohammad, A. (2014, February). Factors Affecting Medical Service Quality. Retrieved from NCBI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4450689/

Gerald R. Ledlow, James H. Stephens. (2018). Leadership for Health Professionals. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Benjamin Schortgen 

Epidemics and Pandemics are a part of human history.  Currently as I write this discussion post in preparation for Unit 5 A virus has emerged from China and is spreading.  The Coronavirus is a human to human contagion, and it is safe to say that the effects could become global.

            Hospitals and health systems are going to need to be on high alert and likely have policies available to deal with these outbreaks.  Some actions I would take would include:

1. Review current protocol and policy and start training now on infection control and pandemic/epidemic standard operating procedures.
2. Train and prepare to receive ill persons while maintaining safety for non-infected hospital wings and areas.
3. Research and prepare for CDC and WHO requirements and comply with all quarantine and reporting rules
4. Establish and begin public education as soon as possible
   1. Infection prevention
   2. Travel information
   3. Proper in-home procedures to identify and protect possible infected individuals and the rest of the household

History tends to repeat itself, the black plague that ripped across Europe, the Spanish Flu in the early 20th century, and Ebola in the early 21st are all examples of possible devastating external factors that we should not fear but should be ready for.