Evaluate the Demand for the New Service Line in the Market Area Defined in the Case Study

1.  Evaluate the demand for the new service line in the market area defined in the case study.

Currently, there are many areas that are in high demand for patients in the service area for new service lines. By following through on the strategic plan of implementation of the orthopedic, cardiovascular, and cancer centers this will do two things as related to the demand for the new service line:

1. It will drive dramatic increases in volume and improved financial performance.
2. It will make available the most advanced approaches for preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease processes impacting thousands.

The demand to expand the service line is essential to increase performance of the organization and its future depends on the success of implementation of the new service lines. The strategy demand for the new service line in the market area is by specialty service arena is as follows:

Goal 1: Develop Regional Cancer Center

Strategy A: Offer Distinctive Clinical Programs and Services

• Multidisciplinary, disease-focused clinics: breast, GI, lung, prostate

• Comprehensive medical, surgical, radiation, support services
• Evidence-based treatment and access to leading clinical trials

Strategy B: Emphasize Cancer Prevention and Control

• Community education
• Screening and risk assessment
• Outreach to underserved communities

Strategy C: Enhance Service Access

• Fast-track scheduling
• Patient navigation

Goal 2: Develop Regional Orthopedic Center

Strategy A: Offer Distinctive Clinical Programs and Services

• Spine, total joint, hand
• Comprehensive rehab and support programs
• Best practices and treatment protocols

Strategy B: Emphasize Prevention of Injury and Disease

• Community education
• Screening and risk assessment
• Outreach services to underserved communities

Strategy C: Enhance Service Access

• Fast-track scheduling
• Coordination of services

Goal 3: Develop Cardiovascular Center

Strategy A: Offer Distinctive Clinical Programs and Services

• Peripheral artery disease, heart failure, electrophysiology
• Cardiology for women
• Evidence-based treatment

Strategy B: Emphasize Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Disease

• Community Education
• Screening and risk assessment
• Outreach services to underserved communities

Strategy C: Enhance Service Access

• Fast-track scheduling
• Coordination of services

The demand for the new service line in the market area would include needing focus on

the following specifics:

1. Ensuring that patient care is of consistently high quality and that the environment is safe for patients, visitors, and staff.
2. Ensuring that hospital operations are conducted in an efficient manner.
3. Ensuring that service excellence for patients and staff is a high priority.
4. Creating a positive learning environment for hospital and medical staff with emphasis on innovation and achievement.

2.  Analyze how current international healthcare trends could be incorporated into the development of the new service line.

                There are several current international healthcare trends that can be incorporated into the development of the new service line which are listed below:

1. Using innovation based on demand in order to reach the emerging economies. Focusing on the trends and investing in healthcare in different countries or partnership which can become huge markets for health care companies like Trinity Community Hospital. Using new inventive technologies and delivery of business models which can be critiqued to fit the needed demand of other countries.

1. Using advances of both technological and medicine for the different countries.  Focusing currently on the disease factor and treatment development will reduce the cost by thousands. By investing in the disease prevention factor and treatment it can lead to a better understanding of disease. The downfall to this is that it will raise the privacy and cost-benefit issues when focusing on this issue.

1. Baby boomers and aging populations will soon explode into the healthcare system and overwhelm it. When there are older generations involved it can lead to increased number of individuals that suffer from chronic and very expensive diseases to treat in healthcare that will put a strain on the healthcare system in general. Currently, it has already been identified that once healthcare reform takes effect and everyone will have health coverage there will be a huge shortage of physicians to take care of the people. The real question is at what price are we willing to pay for a cost-benefit of keeping the aging people of society with disease in a good quality of life kept alive? Who are the individuals that would decide the fate of these individuals? Focusing on preventatives and improving health before the aging population gets to this stage should be a focus point because the end result would be more cost effect by not having so many aging populations with chronic diseases.

1. Medical Cost that continue to rise in healthcare are never ending. By using the state of the art technological advances paired with the cost of the aging population these two items will have a combined cost that can affect spending of health care and that delivery of the healthcare at national levels. Focusing on the preventatives and the best up to date technology advances that lead to cost effectiveness should be the focus of our healthcare system today.

1. Pandemics that are global should be the next trend to focus on. Society has become an evolving universe of coping with all types of possible pandemics that can arise such as bird flu, swine flu, etc. which is transferred due to global travel, healthcare delivery systems in other countries that are lacking such as Africa and HIV pandemic being out of control and millions dying. By focusing on preventatives and safety precautions this can help many populations to control the spread of these pandemics.

1. Challenges of environment have great effects of illness for every person in every town. The environment can affect the water and air quality, food supply that can contain pathogens like salmonella, listeria, etc.  Food is sold all over the world from many different places. By having the environment be contaminated it can affect many generations of people into the future. By having the hospital focus on the challenges of the environment and ways of prevention then just maybe many issues that people are faced with daily can be prevented.

1. Focus on medicine that is evidence based is essential instead of the old fashion remedy of trial and error given what the patient and doctor decide to try. Using research information with standard studies and protocols for treating illness is the best approach. Having physicians with the most up to date information and treatment is essential in the healthcare business. Having physicians take plenty of CME education to keep their skills and knowledge sharp is essential in business.

1. Provide care to patients isn’t just for medical doctors anymore. There are many types of healthcare individuals that went to school to practice medicine that are not physicians such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, osteopaths, etc. Since there is already a shortage of physicians in primary care arena using other type of individuals as listed above will help with the rising cost of medicine, focus on protocol standardization and latest technology which will bring huge differences for the changes of healthcare not for just today but for the future.

1. The next trend is a difficult one with having influence of the payer over treatment of medical decisions. Due to the rising cost of healthcare the decisions need to be made by the payer instead of the healthcare physician based upon ability to pay. Suppose there is someone that is terminal with cancer and the quality of life is important to their family however, there are not any funds to secure the best quality of life then is the decision to adjust the treatment options based upon lack of financing and the quality of life will be compromised? Trinity hospital is focusing on financials regarding patient stay per day and making future decisions based upon the lack of funding to invest. This already is leaning toward the global trend of payers making the decisions of care based upon lack of stay or hospital admissions.

1. Philanthropy thrives in the global aspect on pharmaceutical companies focusing on researching drugs for healthcare systems for prevention and this includes treatment of diseases. One example is cervical cancer in woman there is medication that can now be given to young girls in their teens for prevention which has shown a successful rate of success. Investing in research for more treatment of disease such as TB or malaria will not only help our country but others in treating and the prevention.

1. Big opportunity for prevention if spent on vaccines and or serious health issues such as cancer, diabetes, etc. would lead to reduce cost of healthcare and chronic conditions in the future. Many people are supportive of stopping smoking and focusing on health such as yearly colonoscopy for preventatives and removing polyps. By focusing on preventatives this in-turn will decrease amounts of finances needed for treatment in the future. By increases services such as orthopedics, cardiovascular, and oncology this will help with preventatives of diseases that are extremely costly for treatment.

1. Tourism used for medical reasons for individuals all over the world. As costs get cheaper for medical care in other countries people will travel for the cost savings benefit. For instance an IVF in France or Africa is far cheaper by 2,000-3,000 than the 25,000 per IVF procedure here in the United States.  Cost pressure forces people to seek healthcare outside of the United States for a cost reduction that aligns with their finances. By finding ways of bringing services locally this in-turn promotes business and looks for ways of cost effectiveness in the organization.

3.  Discuss the existing programs and service lines in the healthcare organization that could serve as complementary components of the new service line.