Milestone Three_SWOT Analysis

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Running head: MILESTONE THREE_SWOT ANALYSIS 1 Milestone Three: SWOT Analysis Tina Brown Southern New Hampshire University HCM 415: Healthcare Strategic Management and Policy Professor Rachel Blackwood, MBA, PMP July 22, 2023

MILESTONE THREE_SWOT ANALYSIS 2 Summary Huntington Hospital (HH) is a 625- bed non-profit hospital that is in Pasadena, California. HH has outstanding accounts receivable (AR) days of 64 days, which is a key performance indicator for billing and collections. Moreover, in 2012 HH was recognized as one of the top-performing hospitals by U.S. News & World Report (2015) and wishes to promote and enhance their vision on providing exceptional quality, patient-centered care to individuals in their community. Jim Noble, the executive VP-COO/CFO, was not happy with the current AR days for their organization and has a goal to lower the AR days to somewhere in the 50’s. Noble recognizes that based on HH’s payer mix, where their organization is located, and to achieve the mission and vision of the organization that a different strategic approach must to be taken to achieve the AR goal he desires (Drabkin, & Soule, 2015). To accomplish this change, Noble hired Kim Markey as the executive director of revenue cycle for HH’s Business Services Office. Noble needed a manager who was a strategic thinker and not a manager who would come in and continue to focus on doing business the same way. Analysis: Policies . According to the case study (2015, pg. 5), the Business Services Office at HH did not have any formal policies in place to help address the increased AR days (Drabkin, & Soule, 2015). The employees were told to use spreadsheets and perform tasks that they did not understand or did not help them in their specific roles. When an employee did not understand how to do something or had a question, they were required to email their respective manager instead of going directly to that manager to get answers and assistance. In addition, if one manager was not available and an employee went to another manager for help, the employee would receive a different direction because of the inconsistency and lack of communication

MILESTONE THREE_SWOT ANALYSIS 3 between all managers (Drabkin, & Soule, 2015). There was also no formal process or policy for conducting meetings, as nothing was ever in writing for the information given during the meetings. The lack of formal written policies and procedures left employees feeling fearful, afraid, and confused about how to perform their jobs, as well as created a culture of low employee morale. Part of Kim Markey’s goal was to remove these obstacles so that AR days could be decreased and HH could continue to be the top-performing hospital in the area (Drabkin, & Soule, 2015). As a start, to help with the low employee morale, Markey did implement an open-door policy for employees to come talk to her since they could not approach their own managers face to face. She also implemented a new policy that employees didn’t have to wait 5 minutes before their shift to clock in so that employees didn’t feel like they couldn’t come to work or feel as if they are part of a team (Drabkin, & Soule, 2015). One additional process that Markey implemented to help with the current lack of policies in place was to hire two outside consultants to help train some of the Business Service Office staff to decrease the current AR days. Feedback: You stated that there were no policies in place, but you did list out a number of policies. Policies are guidelines on how to get the work done and can be written or unwritten. Policies can also be based on directives from a government entity. Analysis: Mission and Vision The strategic planning that Markey was implementing to decrease the AR days had a clear focus on improving employee collaboration, employee communication, the workplace culture, building trust and respect, and enhancing technology. Each of Markey’s strategic plans align with HH’s mission, vision, and core values to give outstanding health care to everyone through the collaboration of their providers, nurses, administrative employees, and technology (Huntington Hospital, 2023). By using an employee suggestion box (2015, pg. 5), Markey was able to improve employee morale, start creating collaboration, and create a sense of confidence

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MILESTONE THREE_SWOT ANALYSIS 4 among the managers. All these things are part of the core values for HH and will help the Business Service Office support the organization in their overall mission and vision. Feedback: You are on the right track, but be specific. What is the organization's strategic plan related to its mission and vision? Now how does this connect with how management is going to fix the issue? Please check the format of your citations. Analysis: SWOT HH does have several strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) surrounding the issue of their high number of AR days. The use of a SWOT analysis within an organization provides a high-level overview of both the internal and external issues that may need to be further addressed surrounding a specific issue or problem. The biggest strength for HH is that they have hired Kim Markey, who has been able to grasp the mission and vision of the organization and apply them to the strategic goals of reducing the AR days, as mentioned above. Unfortunately, one of their biggest weaknesses is their lack of internal policies and procedures within the Business Service Office department, which is most likely the reason for the AR days being at 64 (Drabkin, & Soule, 2015). When an organization does not have internal policies and procedures in place for their employees, there is no direction, confusion, lack of leadership, and inconsistency in work productivity and efficiency. While there are several opportunities available to HH, the current workplace culture is causing employees to have very low morale, feel fearful, anxious, and stressful (Drabkin, & Soule, 2015). Lastly, a key threat that will need to be addressed in the alternative planning is the fact that the current assistant director, who is impeding any changes and planning by Markey (2015, pg. 6) is not retiring for another year. Each item in the SWOT analysis is not necessarily in order of priority so it is important that each item be carefully analyzed further to determine what additional strategic planning HH should take to remove any obstacles to help reduce their AR days. Strengths Weaknesses

MILESTONE THREE_SWOT ANALYSIS 5  Top performing hospital in their area  Newly hired, experienced executive director of revenue cycle  Varied payer mix  Good location  Lack of internal policies & procedures  Poor/ineffective communication between all departments and employees  Inefficient billing system Opportunities  Implementation of new EHR system  Bad/poor workplace culture  Training from outside consultants Threats  Current assistant director not retiring for another year  Changes in Medicare reimbursement policies and guidelines Feedback: Good and please check the format of your citations. Analysis: Environmental Factors There are three specific environmental factors that are related to HH’s current AR days and have a potential impact on the delivery of care within the organization. The first is the implementation of the new EHR system. The implementation of a new EHR system in the organization can have a positive impact on the delivery of care in a variety of ways. EHR systems provide the opportunity for HH to obtain more accurate patient demographic information up front, verify a patient’s insurance and eligibility information in a timely manner, maintain and record medical record information for billing purposes, and calculate and collect patient cost shares more efficiency and effectively up front during the registration and scheduling process. The new EHR system will also allow for the ability of the organization to submit claims to payers in a more timely and efficient manner; therefore, being able to potentially decrease their AR days. In one study conducted regarding the availability and usage of technology within an organization showed that the workplace environment, communication, and management capabilities were tied to a decrease in length of stay, improved quality of care, and a decrease in staff turnover (Lundstrom et al., 2002). In addition to the implementation of the EHR system, the poor workplace culture is having a negative impact and needs to be addressed immediately for

MILESTONE THREE_SWOT ANALYSIS 6 positive outcomes to be recognized. Some of the policies and procedures that will help address this issue are to have written policies and procedures, an integrated teams approach that shares information, and the creation of self-managed teams (Lundstrom et al., 2002). Policies and procedures provide clear guidance and direction for employees, while allowing for a teams approach that shares information is a collaborative strategy that will allow for innovation and growth between the different departments. The last environmental factor is the training from the outside consultants that Markey has hired. The two consultants can provide the Business Service Office with the written policies and procedures that they are lacking. During the time frame the consultants were trying to map out the complete AR collection process with the Medicare collection team, they were unable to complete the full mapping process due to reliance on other departments (2015, pg. 8); however, once these obstacles are removed, the two consultants will be invaluable to assisting the organization in mapping out the complete process and identifying any other barriers to reducing the total AR days. This will help with the day to day Business Service Office process in how they move forward in working their outstanding claims going forward now and once the new EHR system is in place. Feedback: You provided a few internal environmental factors at play regarding the issue. Are there any external factors? Please cite your case study and check the format of your citations. A citation must include an author and year of publication. External: political - For example, new legislation. ACA/Marketplace plan changes = higher deductibles, co-pays & co-insurance economic - For example, inflation and unemployment. Uninsured population

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MILESTONE THREE_SWOT ANALYSIS 7 References Drabkin, D. & Soule, S. (2015, July 15). Huntington Hospital (A): Empowering Staff. Stanford School of Business . Case: OB-91(A). https://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books? action=mininav&bcsId=11121&itemId=1119349702&assetId=450390&resourceId=4394 1&newwindow=true Huntington Hospital. (2023). Introducing Huntington Health. https://www.huntingtonhealth.org/about-us/ Lundstrom, T., Pugliese, G., Bartley, J., Cox, J., & Guither, C. (2002). Organizational and environmental factors that affect worker health and safety and patient outcomes. Mt. Pinnacle. http://www.mtpinnacle.com/pdfs/lundstrom-et-al.pdf

Milestone Three_SWOT Analysis

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