THE NATURE AND CHALLENGES OF HEALTHCARE HR

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THE NATURE AND CHALLENGES OF HEALTHCARE HR

MANAGEMENT

Learning Objectives:

After you have read this chapter, you should be able to

 Identify the types of healthcare organizations.(Pages 3 - 6)

 Describe the current and future states of the healthcare industry.(Pages 7 - 9)

 List and briefly describe human resource management activities.(Pages 14-16)

 Explain the unique aspects of managing human resources in healthcare organizations.(Pages 13-14)

 Discuss several of the human resource challenges existing in healthcare.(Pages 9-13)

(Healthcare Human Resource Management, 3e Walter Flynn, Robert Mathis, John Jackson) (Instructor Manual all Chapters) 1 / 4

CHAPTER 1: THE NATURE AND CHALLENGES OF

HEALTHCARE HR MANAGEMENT

Chapter Overview

This chapter describes the various types of organizations that make up the healthcare industry, including physician offices, hospitals, and dental clinics. The chapter discusses the nature of healthcare HR management through an overview of the current and future states of the healthcare industry. HR management activities and roles are discussed against the backdrop of the challenges HR professionals face in healthcare. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is described, accompanied by a discussion on the importance of establishing quality standards relating to HR strategies, policies, and practices. 2 / 4

Chapter Outline

THE NATURE AND CHALLENGES OF HEALTHCARE HR

MANAGEMENT

Healthcare HR Insights Nature of Healthcare Organizations Employment in Healthcare Types of Healthcare Jobs The Current State of Healthcare The Future of Healthcare HR Challenges in Healthcare Recruitment and Retention Managing Change Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Healthcare Reform and HR Practices The HR Function in Healthcare HR Management Activities Case End notes

Healthcare HR Insights

Healthcare HR Insights The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), an independent not-for-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on developing strategies for health and healthcare improvement.1 Consistent with its mission it has developed a framework for healthcare improvement based on optimizing health system performance. It is IHI’s belief that new designs must be developed to

simultaneously pursue three dimensions, which it calls the “Triple Aim”:

Improving the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction)

• Improving the health of populations • Reducing the per capita cost of health care2

At the heart of the Triple Aim approach is a fundamental rethinking of how healthcare workers are trained, managed, coached, and compensated in order to pursue the dimensions noted above. Healthcare organizations that adopt this new design must translate these dimensions into HR strategies because ultimately people

provide healthcare. Examples include: healthcare worker training and coaching

designed to provide them with new skills in customer relations to improve the 3 / 4

patient experience. Jobs may need to be redesigned to focus more on primary care versus specialty care to deal with the full continuum of healthcare provision.Healthcare workers may be compensated based on how effectively their organizations deliver high-quality care at the lowest possible price.

Many healthcare organizations have begun to translate the Triple Aim design into high-impact results. The following examples illustrate this approach, including:

• Genesys Health System in Flint, Michigan, worked with its partners Genesee Health Plan and Genesys Physician Hospital Organization to better engage patients in their own care. The combination of a patient-centered medical home and a health navigator who supports patients and providers, and links both with community resources, helps to improve access and appropriate utilization. Genesys says that it is demonstrating 10 to 25 percent lower healthcare costs than competitors, across a diverse population that includes both insured and uninsured patients.

• HealthPartners, based in Minnesota, introduced a program designed around the concepts of consistency (reliable processes), customization (adapting care to individual needs), convenience (improving access), and coordination. Health- Partners calculates that spreading their best practices nationwide would save $2 trillion in 10 years.

• QuadMed, based in Wisconsin, provides employer-sponsored, work site health care, bringing primary healthcare services in-house for employees and dependents, and managing clinics for two other national companies. Thirty- to 90-minute appointments support prevention and wellness; onsite lab, X-ray, and ancillary services offer convenience and coordination; and the result is more spending on primary care and less on hospitalization and pharmacy. QuadMed spends about 31 percent less to cover QuadGraphics employees than the average Wisconsin company.3

Each of these organizations could achieve the successful outcomes noted only by engaging its workforce in the changes necessary to drive the Triple Aim objectives.HR strategic management is critical in achieving these outcomes.

Instructor Notes

I. NATURE OF HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS

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