Developing Global Competitiveness in Healthcare

2011 ◽  
pp. 1481-1490
Author(s):  
William P. Wall

Healthcare is a competitive business in its own right. Global competition in healthcare adds yet another complex dimension to the success of a healthcare organization. Providing state of the art technology along with the manpower and management skills to bridge boundaries and cultures, confronts today’s healthcare organizations with challenges that, while on the surface may appear simple, may also prove to be a bigger challenge to their success and survival than the medical care they are actually providing. This case study explores one major healthcare organization in Thailand posing the question of what it sees as critical to the success of healthcare competition in the global community. An inductive approach was utilized for a method of determining competitiveness. The resulting qualitative analysis of that data addresses issues of seeking and maintaining global competitiveness, providing superior quality care with competitive and reasonable pricing of sub-specialty and high acuity services and work effectively through strategic alliances. In the case of the healthcare organization in this study, global competitiveness is maintained through what they term “Thainess”. That “Thainess” or ability to provide comfort and hospitality at the same time as providing excellent medical care and facilities give them both economy of scale to provide reasonable pricing and a uniqueness in the medical care provided. Uniqueness and quality in service attracts strategic alliances of similar quality and allows for expansion into global communities that were not possible in the past.

Author(s):  
William P. Wall

Healthcare is a competitive business in its own right. Global competition in healthcare adds yet another complex dimension to the success of a healthcare organization. Providing state of the art technology along with the manpower and management skills to bridge boundaries and cultures, confronts today’s healthcare organizations with challenges that, while on the surface may appear simple, may also prove to be a bigger challenge to their success and survival than the medical care they are actually providing. This case study explores one major healthcare organization in Thailand posing the question of what it sees as critical to the success of healthcare competition in the global community. An inductive approach was utilized for a method of determining competitiveness. The resulting qualitative analysis of that data addresses issues of seeking and maintaining global competitiveness, providing superior quality care with competitive and reasonable pricing of sub-specialty and high acuity services and work effectively through strategic alliances. In the case of the healthcare organization in this study, global competitiveness is maintained through what they term “Thainess”. That “Thainess” or ability to provide comfort and hospitality at the same time as providing excellent medical care and facilities give them both economy of scale to provide reasonable pricing and a uniqueness in the medical care provided. Uniqueness and quality in service attracts strategic alliances of similar quality and allows for expansion into global communities that were not possible in the past.


Author(s):  
William P. Wall

Global competition today is a complex dimension to add in the success of a healthcare organization. Providing state of the art technology along with the manpower and management skills to bridge boundaries and cultures, confronts today’s healthcare organizations with challenges that, while on the surface may appear simple, may also prove to be a bigger challenge to their success and survival than the medical care they are actually providing. This study is a follow up to an earlier study conducted on a major healthcare organization in Thailand posing the question of how the current political unrest in Thailand and the global financial crisis has affected their global competitiveness. An inductive approach was utilized for a method of determining competitiveness. The resulting qualitative analysis of that data addresses issues of threats to maintaining global competitiveness, providing superior quality care with competitive and reasonable pricing of sub-specialty and high acuity services and work effectively through strategic alliances. In the case of the healthcare organization in this study, their global competitiveness is threatened potentially by the global recession and most recently, the political instability in Thailand. Reputation and the ability to provide comfort and hospitality at the same time as providing excellent medical care and facilities give them both economy of scale to provide reasonable pricing and a uniqueness in the medical care provided. This uniqueness and quality in service attracts strategic alliances and allows for retention of competitiveness in global markets.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agustin Lara-Esqueda ◽  
Sergio A Zaizar-Fregoso ◽  
Violeta M Madrigal-Perez ◽  
Mario Ramirez-Flores ◽  
Daniel A Montes-Galindo ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Diabetes Mellitus is a worldwide health problem and the leading cause of premature death with increasing prevalence over time. Usually, along with it, Hypertension presents and acts as another risk factor that increases mortality risk. Both diseases impact the country's health while also producing an economic burden for society, causing billions of dollars to be invested in their management. OBJECTIVE The present study evaluated the quality of medical care for patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HBP), and both pathologies (DM+HBP) within a public health system in Mexico, according to the official Mexican standard for each pathology. METHODS 45,498 patients were included from 2012 to 2015. All information was taken from the electronic medical records database, exported as anonymized data for research purposes. Each patient record was compared against the standard to test the quality of medical care. RESULTS Glycemia with hypertension goals reached 29.6% in DM+HBP, 48.6% in DM, and 53.2% in HBP. The goals of serum lipids were reached by 3% in DM+HBP, 5% in DM, and 0.2% in HBP. Glycemia, hypertension, and LDL cholesterol reached 0.04%. 15% of patients had an undiagnosed disease of diabetes or hypertension. Clinical follow-up examinations reached 20% for foot examination and clinical eye examination in the whole population. Specialty referral reached 1% in angiology or cardiology in the whole population. CONCLUSIONS Goals for glycemic and hypertension reached 50% in the overall population, while serum lipids, clinical follow-up examinations, and referral to a specialist were deficient. Patients who had both diseases had more consultations, better control for hypertension and lipids, but inferior glycemic control. Overall, quality care for DM and/or HBP has not been met according to the standards. While patients with DM and HBP do not have a current standard to evaluate their own needs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2311
Author(s):  
Eleonora Gaetani ◽  
Fabiana Agostini ◽  
Luigi Di Martino ◽  
Denis Occhipinti ◽  
Giulio Cesare Passali ◽  
...  

Background: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) needs high-quality care and multidisciplinary management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most non-urgent clinical activities for HHT outpatients were suspended. We conducted an analytical observational cohort study to evaluate whether medical and psychological support, provided through remote consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic, could reduce the complications of HHT. Methods: A structured regimen of remote consultations, conducted by either video-calls, telephone calls, or e-mails, was provided by a multidisciplinary group of physicians to a set of patients of our HHT center. The outcomes considered were: number of emergency room visits/hospitalizations, need of blood transfusions, need of iron supplementation, worsening of epistaxis, and psychological status. Results: The study included 45 patients who received remote assistance for a total of eight months. During this period, 9 patients required emergency room visits, 6 needed blood transfusions, and 24 needed iron supplementation. This was not different from what was registered among the same 45 patients in the same period of the previous year. Remote care also resulted in better management of epistaxis and improved quality of life, with the mean epistaxis severity score and the Euro-Quality of Life-Visual Analogue Scale that were significantly better at the end than at the beginning of the study. Discussion: Remote medical care might be a valid support for HHT subjects during periods of suspended outpatient surveillance, like the COVID-19 pandemic.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1080-1097
Author(s):  
Annemiek Stoopendaal

Purpose – Dichotomous “gap” thinking about professionals and managers has important limits. The purpose of this paper is to study the specific ontology of “the gap” in which different forms of distances are defined. Design/methodology/approach – In order to deepen the knowledge of the actual day-to-day tasks of Dutch healthcare executives an ethnographic study of the daily work of Dutch healthcare executives and an ontological exploration of the concept “gap” was provided. The study empirically investigates the meaning given to the concept of “distance” in healthcare governance practices. Findings – The study reveals that healthcare executives have to fulfil a dual role of maintaining distance and creating proximity. Coping with different forms of distances seems to be an integral part of their work. They make use of four potential mechanisms to cope with distance in their healthcare organization practices. Originality/value – The relationship between managers and professionals is often defined as a dichotomous gap. The findings in this research suggest a more dynamic picture of the relationship between managers and professionals than is currently present in literature. This study moves “beyond” the gap and investigates processes of distancing in-depth.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Ashraf Ahmad Zaghloul

INTRODUCTION: Marketing the hospital image through advertising shapes the sources of information upon which the patient takes a decision to purchase the service. Advertisement is considered to be one of the marketing activities geared towards promoting the hospital’s image. The aim of this study is to explore and investigate the determinants of consumer behavior toward newspaper advertising eye-catchers for hospitals and medical care in the UAE.METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study design was followed using the snowball technique to select a convenient sample of the population of Sharjah, UAE. The total number of questionnaires valid for statistical analysis accounted for a 402.RESULTS: The significant adjusted odds included in the model were occupation (Administrative) = 2.1 (CI 1.1-4.5), name and brand = 0.4 (CI 0.1-0.8), clinical staff photo = 0.2 (CI 0.1-0.7), and location = 3.9 (CI 1.3-11.9).  CONCLUSION: Healthcare organizations are required to further assess the feedback of their marketing plans especially newspaper advertisement budgets through the quality control activities performed at these organizations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Stefania De Simone

Over 20 years, hospitals in Italy as well as in other European countries have evolved and changed in response to institutional pressures. With the corporatization, there has been the entrance of new logics and governance structures that contributed to a transformation of the health system. The survival of healthcare organizations is dictated not only by the technical conditions, that allow efficiently and effectively operating, but also by the ability to comply with rules to get legitimacy from external institutional actors. Organizations in a population adapt to their environment, in which operate, so many other organizations adapting to it (isomorphism). The purpose of this paper is to discuss a theoretical framework based on neo-institutional approach that could explain the influence of isomorphic pressures on innovative processes in health care sector. Qualitative data from literature on neo-institutional theory applied to health care sector have been analyzed. Findings reveal institutional pressures stimulate the development of innovations and organizational learning. This concept concerns both the fit of the organization with its environment (strategic matters) and effective implementation of strategies. Hospitals must find ways to increase profit, by improving medical capabilities for payment health care services. One of the most important isomorphic pressure is the prospective payment system for health care that had effects on the choices of organizational models to adopt. The challenge for hospital administrators is to seek consistency between efficiency and quality care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-176
Author(s):  
Yumna Nur Millati Hanifa ◽  
Inge Dhamanti

The implementation of safe and quality care with attention to patient safety, requires organization’s effort to create and cultivating patient safety culture. The purpose of this article was to map the instruments used in measuring patient safety culture in healthcare organizations. The method used integrated literature review from various sources of research articles published from 2015 to 2020. The article included if it was available in full text and open access as well as articles described the instruments of patient safety culture or measurement of patient safety culture using one of the instruments of measurement of patient safety culture. The results of the literature review unravel the findings of three instruments such as HSOPSC (Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture), MaPSaF (Manchester Patient Safety Assessment Framework) and SAQ (Safety Attitudes Questionnaire). We concluded all three instruments contained four dimensions of patient safety culture, namely open culture, just culture, reporting culture and learning culture and were widely used to measure patient safety culture in hospitals, primary health facilities and other health facilities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 08015
Author(s):  
Natalia Pashkus ◽  
Nadegzda Starobinskaya ◽  
Petr Shvetc

Background of the study: In the current situation of the global COVID-19 pandemic the role of a strong medical cluster operating in a specific territory in a specific region or even in a country is incredibly increasing. A strong regional medical cluster in these conditions determines the level of health of the population, the ability to cope with the serious challenges of the pandemic and minimize its negative consequences, both the health of citizens and the economy of the region. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that have the strongest impact on the competitiveness of medical organizations in the region in the new conditions of a pandemic and its consequences, as well as to identify promising mechanisms for its assessment and ranking. Methods: In this work, methods of statistical, strategic and matrix analysis are used, on the basis of which the factors of competitiveness of healthcare organizations in the region can be determined and ranked, which makes it possible, by ranking, to identify the most significant of them during the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. Findings & Value added: The results of this study made it possible to test new mechanisms for assessing the competitiveness of healthcare institutions in the new conditions of a pandemic and to study the influence of the most significant factors of competitiveness on the regional and global competitiveness of the region in the conditions of COVID-19.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-330
Author(s):  
David Sparling

Access by all children to high-quality medical care must be the goal of all pediatricians. There are many reasons why all of this care cannot in the foreseeable future be given by pediatricians. These include factors of geography, economics, family education, and comfort, and episodic versus continuity medical care, as well as aggregate manpower figures. Dr. Hoekelman's presentation (Pediatrics 59:315, March 1977) addresses the issue, but his argument is poorly served by the undocumented statement that "there are no data to show that pediatricians do a better job in delivering primary care to children than do family practitioners."


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