Mha 601

1

In 300-350 words, describe the factors that contribute to unpredictable changes in the healthcare industry. What strategies can be applied to respond to these demands? Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ posts.

Change within the healthcare industry is occurring at an exponential rate. Although change is not new to healthcare, the underlying reasons for change are diverse compared to other industries. Consumer perception that healthcare is a right has inspired regulatory changes that affect both access and quality of care, adding to the already escalating costs. The entry of investor-owned companies into the acute-care markets in the late 1960s has created a challenging and changing healthcare environment, which threatens the survival of those unable to adjust to the trends of the industry. (Johnson, 2009)

Other factors contributing to unpredictable changes in the healthcare industry include the exclusive expertise of the providers, the physician/hospital relationship and related referral patterns, the absence of a traditional competitive market, and the fragmentation of the industry. (Johnson, 2009)

Consistent with the whitewater changes occurring in the industry, healthcare is in a state of transformation and restructuring, integrating a vast network of diverse enterprises. The consolidation of healthcare networks appears to have peaked around 1996; however, in 2003, 100 hospitals were involved in 68 mergers and acquisitions.7 These and other changes have forced healthcare leaders to reconsider traditional systems for delivering care and the subsequent need to transform the industry.

Organization Development and Change Management

In an effort to respond to these demands, the healthcare industry is focusing its strategic management efforts around an emerging second-generation concept of OD. These strategies include organizational transformation, organizational culture, the learning organization, high-performance work teams, and total...