For this Assignment, review the resources for this week and the “Case Study Assignment” document. Reflect on the issues presented in the Case Study assigned and consider how you might approach the case as a health care administration leader.
The Assignment—Part 1:
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Individual Case Study Analysis (1–2 pages):
The Assignment—Part 2:
Group Case Study Analysis (2–3 pages):
Required Readings
Nahavandi, A. (2015). The art and science of leadership (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
· Chapter 4, “Individual Differences and Traits” (pp. 104–129)
Katz, R.L. (1974). Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review, 52(5), 90-102.
Morrow, E., Robert, G., & Maben, J. (2014). Exploring the nature and impact of leadership on the local implementation of The Productive Ward Releasing Time to Care™. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 28(2), 154-176.
Document: Case Study Assignment (PDF)
Optional Resources
Leadership styles. (n.d.). In How-to guide, management: Developing a leadership style [Online series]. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 6, 2015, from http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/how-to-develop-a-leadership-style/?mod=WSJBlog
Week 4 Case Study Assignment
Case Study 1: Higher Payments for Hire
One of the performance goals for the Health and Wellness Consortium (HWC), a multi-
health system for-profit corporation, is to drive up profit margins while minimizing
payments for medical care. The CFO of HWC examines and reviews the financial
records of the services provided by the health systems in HWC. The CFO determines
that supplying each health system with a 24-hour acute care clinic would allow other
departments within the HWC to increase profit margins. The CFO organizes a meeting
with the CEO of HWC to determine how they might be able to recoup lost profits in a 24-
hour acute care clinic if patients do not carry health insurance.
The CFO has organized a planning meeting with the CEO of a debt collection agency,
Assured Payments, to see how they might be able to offer services for recouping lost
payments in the 24-hour acute care clinic within the HWC. The debt collection agency,
Assured Payments, has suggested that they post two of their debt collectors as intake
receptionists at the 24-hour acute care clinics within the HWC to not only process
admissions paperwork but to also assist in instituting an upfront fee collection of $250
for acute health services. The debt collectors who are employed by Assured Payments
will not disclose their association with the debt collection agency and instead will
represent each individual 24-hour acute care clinic within the HWC.
After three months of instituting this new strategy, the CFO of HWC is happy to provide
a profit margin summary to the CEO of HWC that indicates that revenues are on the up
and up. Shortly thereafter, the CEO of HWC receives a heated phone call from the
Attorney General of the state in which HWC operates. The Attorney General’s office has
received numerous complaints detailing how aggressive debt collectors are stationed
within the 24-hour acute care clinics serving the HWC. Furthermore, private health
information has been stored for each patient/client within the Assured Payments
database, which does not have fully encrypted security measures that allow any
employee or representative of Assured Payments to gain complete access to patient
records. The CEO is charged with a violation of HIPAA policies as well as intentional
misrepresentation and collusion to use debt collectors as agents of HWC.
Case Study 2: Inappropriate Use for Points
You are the health care administrator overseeing the operations at New Haven Wound
Treatment Center. You have noticed that several of the nurse managers and nurses
have increased recommendations to physicians on using a new product, Healthy
Healing, for patients in the wound treatment center. You have received complaints from
some physicians in the wound treatment center that have indicated that the nurses are
quite insistent and appear to be ignoring doctor’s orders for treatment on using a
different product that is less expensive and just as efficacious.
You decide to do a walk-through in the wound treatment center. You meet with the
nurse managers and hold a brief meeting with the nurses during their breaks to
determine why Healthy Healing is considered a superior product. While the nurse
managers and nurses appear to quote material from a sales brochure highlighting the
benefits of using Healthy Healing, you are familiar with the other products that doctors
have used over several years that have contributed to successful and effective results
for patients in the wound treatment center.
As you wrap up your meetings and walk-through, you overhear a nurse manager
discussing her newest purchase that she was able to get as a result of HH points. The
nurse manager exclaims, “Next month, I will be sure to use enough Healthy Healing so
that I can earn the HH points needed to get that trip for two to Paris!” You cannot help
but feel that this represents a direct conflict of interest and decide to approach the nurse
manager about the HH points system. The nurse manager is surprised to see you and
begins explaining how for every instance of Healthy Healing used, nurses receive
various points. The more Healthy Healing product used, the more points the nurses
earn. These points, called HH points, can then be used to trade in for various products
and goods in the Healthy Healing catalog.
You ask the nurse manager if she sees a problem with this and she immediately
defends back, “Those sales people walk up and down these halls every week. If the
hospital or center did not want us to use these products and take advantage of the
perks, they would not allow them to be here in the first place.”
You immediately determine that this does indeed present a problem and you organize a
meeting with the CEO of the New Haven Wound Treatment Center to initiate the
cancellation of the Healthy Healing points system.
Case Study 3: An Inconvenient HR Challenge
As the hospital administrator for Forest Glenn Medical Center, you oversee human
resources functions for the medical center. Recently, within the outpatient medical team,
three of the five doctors have submitted resignation letters effective immediately. You
recognize that this presents a big problem because the outpatient medical team is a
high-performance area in the medical center and cannot function with two full-time
physicians alone. You immediately organize a meeting with the director of the outpatient
medical team, Dr. Caron, to determine why these physicians are so determined to
resign immediately.
You meet with Dr. Caron and he states that he is just as surprised as you are that three
of his team members have decided to leave suddenly. He is at a complete loss as to
why they have decided to leave. After meeting with Dr. Caron, you decide to set up
individual meetings with the three physicians, Dr. Lowe, Dr. Howell, and Dr. Cardenas,
to process and discuss their resignations.
Upon meeting with Dr. Lowe and his purpose for resigning, he states, “I just could not
continue working for a tyrannical leader like Dr. Caron. While I love providing care to our
patients and working for Forest Glenn, I cannot live up to the standards that Dr. Caron
wants. Nor does he even let me try.” You decide to delve a little deeper into this
complaint and mention to Dr. Lowe that there is a process in place to submit complaints
for a hostile work environment. He states that he did not want to get anyone in trouble,
and that he would rather find employment elsewhere.
You then meet with Dr. Howell and Dr. Cardenas, who appear to corroborate with Dr.
Lowe’s reasoning on resigning from Forest Glenn. You approach them with the
possibility of talking to Dr. Caron about these complaints and whether they would be
willing to stay while you search for suitable replacements if the hostile work environment
is alleviated. Both Dr. Howell and Cardenas agree that they would be willing to stay for
two months while you address the issues with Dr. Caron in the outpatient medical team.
You immediately schedule a meeting with Dr. Caron to discuss the complaints and to
initiate necessary steps for the establishment of a productive and effective work
environment.
Case Study 4: Privacy at Lakeview Medical Center
You are the CEO at Lakeview Medical Center, an urban medical center, consisting of
two acute care hospitals, a medical school, a dental annex, and an allied health
complex. Earlier this morning, your Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) enters your office
quite frantic and relays the following story:
Mrs. Henry was a patient on one of your med/surgical floors. She was experiencing
some complications when a medical team rushed into her room to resuscitate her.
When she came to, she looked up and noticed a man in her room observing the entire
scene. She dismissed this, thinking that he was probably a member of the medical team
or the administrative staff. As the medical team proceeds to attend to her, she was
shuffled around and she felt very aware of the fact that this man kept staring at her
throughout the ordeal. After a few minutes, Mrs. Henry asked the nurse, “Who is that
man in my room and why is he here?” The nurse quickly addressed her and responded,
“Oh, him? That’s Mr. Davis. His wife has been in here for over two weeks. Don’t pay him
any attention, he likes to roam the hallways and peek in every now and then to see if
any action is going on.”
Mrs. Henry was quite upset and devastated that her privacy and safety was
compromised. Worse yet, Mr. Davis was a complete stranger and no one was even
aware that he was in the room the whole time.
The COO then proceeds to hand you a letter that was delivered by the Henrys’ family
attorney requesting immediate action on what you, as the CEO, intend to do to uphold
the privacy and safety for all your patients in your medical center. The attorney has
advised that you respond to his notice immediately or he will be contacting the media on
how patient rights are not taken seriously at your facilities.
Case Study 4: Privacy at Lakeview Medical Center
In the case study concerning privacy issues at Lakeview Medical Center, the following leaders were involved in the case – 1) The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and 2) The Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). Based on the first paragraph of the case study, no specific traits were listed or indicated for the CEO. However, given the CFO’s expectations of the CEO to provide a corrective action response to the patient’s lawyer, it was implied that the CEO must have the expertise concerning privacy (e.g. HIPAA) laws and patient safety standards. Additionally, the public’s expectations of a CEO in general when addressing legal or sensitive issues include thoughtfulness, transparency and accountability. The CFO, on the other hand, appeared to have low emotional intelligence when the scenario described him entering the CEO’s office “frantic” when relaying the patient’s complaint. Moreover, with a low emotional intelligence, one can extrapolate that the CFO’s approach to addressing “people issues” would require concrete evidence or objective data (since most of their work, if not all, involves dealing with numbers) instead of applying communication techniques that repair or amend relationships. All in all, these are a brief description of the skills and traits the primary leaders possess.
The case involved Mrs. Henry’s concern of her privacy and safety being compromised when a perceived stranger (Mr. Davis) was allowed by the medical team to observe the interventions applied to her when she was experiencing complications during her stay at the med/surgical floors. The scenario starts with Mrs. Henry being resuscitated by the medical team. Following her revival, she noticed a man (Mr. Davis) standing in her room observing the entire ordeal. When Mrs. Henry inquired the nurse who the man was, the nurse acknowledged the man’s presence and that his name was Mr. Davis. Furthermore, the nurse shared with Mrs. Henry that his wife was at the hospital. Due to Mrs. Henry’s perception of the medical team’s lack of awareness of their surroundings, which included allowing a stranger to witness Mrs. Henry’s sensitive ordeal, Mrs. Henry resulted in pursuing legal action against the organization.
Running head: GROUP 4 CASE STUDY 1 1
Group 4 Case Study Analysis
Jonathan Butler, LaShunna B. Hart, Arly Hernandez, & Emmanuel Udasco
Walden University
Health Leadership and Systems Thinking
DDHA8500-1
Dr. Kenneth J. Feldman
March 22, 2020
Summary of Case Study #4
Healthcare organizations are required to report and disclose patient safety events. This can be done through reporting and disclosure of information, such as communicating with the patient and family members. The leadership of the organization must also address ethical issues. There are several methods healthcare leaders and organizations can use to priorities patient care and safety. Those methods include internal and external organizational analysis. The CEO and healthcare administrators are always required by law to maintain the privacy and security of all patients. Managers and administrators have different roles and levels of performance in healthcare organizations (Katz, 1974).
The Lakeview Hospital case study examines the patient safety incident and summarizes how the leaders should address it. Several process improvements incorporated into the organizational plan and environment will help improve the quality of patient safety and experience. A cultural shift initiative will help begin the organization change. The CEO must incorporate tools that will generate transparency and improve organizational efficiency.
Systemic Issues and Strategies
The leadership of Lakeview Medical Center must shift the organizational culture by implementing policies, procedures, and quality measures to ensure patient safety and privacy. The CEO must set organizational goals that reinforce the cultural shift and changes that will improve safety and organizational awareness. The use of systems thinking is often challenging to conceptualize but necessary for effective improvements in healthcare leadership and organizational environments (Leischow et al., 2008). Organizational leaders need to collaborate to improve patient safety and experience.
All healthcare organizations and leaders must implement practices, policies, and procedures for dealing with patient safety. The leadership of the organization needs to take a forward-thinking approach to evaluate, plan, and executing the most effective delivery systems to providing safe patient care and services.
References
Katz, R.L. (1974). Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review, 52(5), 90-102.
Leischow, S. J., Best, A., Trochim, W. M., Clark, P. I., Gallagher, R. S., Marcus, S. E., & Matthews, E. (2008). Systems thinking to improve the public’s health. American journal of preventive medicine, 35(2 Suppl), S196–S203.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.014
Runninghead: GROUP CASE STUDY PART 2 1
WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT GROUP CASE STUDY PART 2 3
Group Case Study – Part 2
Arly G. Hernandez
Health Leadership and Systems Thinking
Walden University
Dr. Kenneth Feldman
March 22, 2020
Group Case Study – Part 2
Summary
The skills or the trait that was utilized by the primary leaders of the HWC and the Assured Payment (debt collectors firm) involved cheating the patients and stealing from them indirectly with the knowledge that such actions will not be discovered. The HWC firm was to embed the debt collectors as the intake receptionists in the reception area so that they can take part in the processing of the admission paperwork and helping in the institution of the upfront fee collection of $ 250 for the acute health services at the 24-hour acute care clinic. According to the instructions provided by the Assured Payment firm, the two debt collectors in the clinic were not to disclose any association with the debt collection agency. The debt collectors acted as the representative of each 24-hour acute clinic in the HWC (Morrow, Robert, & Maben, 2014).
This was a desperate strategy to ensure that that HWC recoups payment as the number of their unpaid debts. The CFO is having the primary responsibility of ensuring that there is an effective process of managing the finance of the organization through planning, management of the financial risks, keeping of the financial records, and giving reports on the finance. Therefore, poor performance in its financial status in the 24-hour acute clinic was a mistake of the CFO since he failed to perform the management of the potential risks and to create possible solutions towards such anticipated risks. Therefore, rather than pursuing the correct and ethical route towards the creation of the effective measures as a remedy, he chose the shortcut route that did not only harm the organization but also harmed the patients who are the key customers to the profit-making in this organization (Murray, n.d).
The CEO of the HWC also falls to the tricks of his CFO due to the desperation to make everything to be on the right track. It is evident that many healthcare facilities are struggling under the glut of unpaid bills and many of them are reaching out to the firms that are specialized in the collection of the medical bills. Other strategies used by the firm are the hiring of the outside collection agencies to pursue patients upon being discharged from the hospitals. Nevertheless, the financial pressures faced by the hospitals cause an alteration to the collection landscape, and therefore, they are left with the approach of allowing the debt collectors in the front door just like in the case of the HWC firm. Such a move scares patients away from the facilities and this was a bad choice to be accepted by the CEO of this firm (Murray, n.d).
There are effective approaches that can be adopted to prevent the organization from taking part in such an act. It was important for the Assured Payment to allow identify themselves as the debt collectors when they were dealing with the patients through using their two debt collectors. The act of engaging in the management of the front-line staffing such as the registration of the patients, scheduling, and back-office collection is unethical and not a good move that should be adopted by the healthcare facility. The CFO needs to ensure that there is continuous verification of the items not covered by the insurance. Medical billing is always a complicated process and it is always accompanied by several mistakes. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the doctor billed the insurance company for the appropriate services and follow-up with the insurance firm to figure out the reason the bill was never paid. It is also important to take the approach of dealing with the medical debt collections and to confirm with the collection agency whether there is a correct report of the debt on the credit report (Murray, n.d).
References
Morrow, E., Robert, G., & Maben, J. (2014). Exploring the nature and impact of leadership on the local implementation of the productive ward releasing time to care. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 28 (2), 154-176.
Murray, A. (n.d). Leadership Styles. Retrieved March 20, 2020, from The Wall Street Journal Guide to Management: http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/how-to-develop-a-leadership-style/?mod=WSJBlog
