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Executive
Summary
Sustaining the Edge: Factors Influencing Strategy Selection in Academic
Health Centers
Anne M. Walsh, D.S.W, associate professor, Health Administration Program,
La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Kathryn Szabat, Ph.D.,
assistant professor, Management Department, La Salle University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Competition
within the acute care sector as well as increased penetration by managed
care organizations has influenced the structure and role of academic health
centers during the past decade. The market factors confronting academic
health centers are not dissimilar from conditions that confront other
organizations competing in mature industries characterized by declining
profitability and intense rivalry for market share. When confronted with
intense competition or adverse external events, organizations in other
industries have responded to potential threats by forming alliances, developing
joint ventures, or merging with another firm to maintain their competitive
advantage. Although mergers and acquisitions dominated the strategic landscape
in the healthcare industry during the past decade, recent evidence suggests
that other types of strategic ventures may offer similar economic and
contracting benefits to member organizations. Academic health centers
have traditionally been involved in network relationships with multiple
partners via their shared technology , collaborative research, and joint
educational endeavors. These quasi-organizational relationships appear
to have provided a framework for strategic decisions and allowed executives
of academic health centers to select strategies that were competitive
yet closely aligned with their organizational mission. The analysis of
factors that influenced strategy selection by executives of academic health
centers suggests a deliberate and methodical approach to achieving market
share objectives, expanding managed care contracts, and developing physician
networks.
Executive
Summary
Community Health Center-Led Networks: Cooperating to Compete
Lieutenant Commander Christine Baxter, MSC, USN, CHE, doctoral candidate,
Department of Health Policy Administration, Pennsylvania State University,
University Park; Rebecca Levin, student, Schreyers Honors College, Pennsylvania
State University, University Park; Marie M. Legaspi, network coordinator,
field offices VII-X, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau
of Primary Healthcare, Bethesda, Maryland; Barbara E. Bailey, Ph.D., chief,
Policy Assistance and Development Branch, Health Resources and Services
Administration, Bureau of Primary Healthcare, Bethesda, Maryland; and
Christie L. Brown, ISDI network coordinator, field offices I-IV, Health
Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Healthcare, Bethesda,
Maryland
The primary
mission of community health centers (CHCs) is to provide primary and preventive
healthcare for the underserved and vulnerable populations, including the
uninsured, underinsured, and Medicaid beneficiaries. Economic and regulatory
challenges have placed these safety net providers in a precarious position,
forcing some to respond using cooperative strategies. This article focuses
on seven CHC-led networks, delineating their integrative efforts in the
core areas of managed care, clinical, administrative, information, and
finance. Interviews with key representatives from each network highlight
the networks' accomplishments and the critical success factors and outcomes
of their integrative efforts. Several underlying themes emerged from this
study that are consistent with findings of previous studies conducted
in other organizational settings. Specifically participants in CHC-led
networks site the following factors as contributors to success: reciprocity,
communication, trust, and long-standing relationships among key individuals.
This is the first study to provide a rich depiction of CHC network activities.
Executive Summary
Healthcare Managers' Roles, Competencies, and Outputs in Organizational
Performance Improvement
William G. Wallick, Ph.D., assistant professor and director, Undergraduate
Human Resource Studies Program, Department of Health Administration and
Human Resources, University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Healthcare
CEOs recognize that managers are under increasing pressure to work smarter
and more efficiently with fewer available resources. Jobs in the healthcare
industry are in a constant state of change, requiring a workforce that
is not only prepared to adjust quickly to the changing environment but
to simultaneously maintain or improve overall organizational performance.
Traditionally, trainers were viewed as the people with the primary responsibility
for improving organizational performance. Today some CEOs believe healthcare
managers should own that responsibility, and other CEOs believe the responsibility
should be shared among healthcare managers and trainers. This shift in
how accountability is viewed poses at least two important questions. Are
managers aware of the various roles they need to enact to achieve successful
organizational performance improvement? Do managers possess the competencies
associated with those roles?
The seven most contemporary trainer roles, now referred to as workplace
learning and performance roles, are examined in this article to help managers
increase their knowledge of the roles, competencies, and outputs expected
of them. Based on findings of a study conducted to examine CEOs' perceptions
of managers' roles in the performance improvement process, this article
provides theoretical backgrounds, includes verbatim study comments, and
offers practical recommendations or tips for managers.
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