Human Resource Department
Introduction
HR Department in Al Baraha Hospital is responsible for hiring and retaining medical workers and other employees of this organization. Moreover, this department is supposed to maintain the personal records of healthcare professionals. Apart from that, they take part in developing training programs implemented in the hospital. Another function of this department is performance appraisal of healthcare professionals. Moreover, the employees of this department may need to resolve the conflicts among employees and address individual grievances of employees. These are the main roles of HR Department. On the whole, it is critical for the effective performance of Al Baraha Hospital in the long term.
It is located on the second floor of the building. This division of Al Baraha Hospital is governed by the regulations of the UAE Ministry of Health (Latham & Watkins LLP 2012, p. 1). For example, one can speak about Federal Law No. 5 (Latham & Watkins LLP 2012, p. 1). The current budget of this department is $200000. Nevertheless, the expenditures can increase provided that hospital intends to carry out a training program. The following chart illustrates the position of this department in Al Baraha Hospital and its interactions with other parts of this hospital.
Analysis
Quality
While assessing the quality of their work, the employees focus primarily on the degree to which it is easy for employees or candidates to receive appropriate services from this department. They should attach importance to the following criteria: 1) time-efficiency; 2) politeness of workers, and 3) their ability to address individual needs of workers. To measure quality, they conduct annual surveys among workers. These surveys are used for the development of quality standards. For example, the managers clearly identify the steps which should be taken in order to settle the grievances of employees. This protocol is helpful for avoiding conflicts with employees and retaining the most competent professionals.
Innovation
The employees of this department lay stress on the need to make a more extensive use of information technologies that can facilitate the storage and transfer of information. For example, it is possible to speak about the use of information database containing the records of employees. Such a tool can significantly improve the time-efficiency of this organization. Certainly, this system was implemented with the help of a software developing company. However, the employees of this department were able to make suggestions as to how this system could be improved. This is one of the contributions that can be identified. Still, it is possible to say that the initiatives of employees are not often supported by the senior management of this department. This is one of the challenges that should be overcome.
Performance
People, who run this department, understand the need to measure and monitor its performance. They pay attention several qualitative indicators as the turnover rate in Al Baraha Hospital. To a great extent, this indicator reflects the quality of performance appraisal, compensation, and workplace environment. Furthermore, they pay attention to the average amount of time which is needed to find a new employee since in this way, one can determine whether their workplace procedures are effectively designed. Furthermore, they compare their performance with the results of other HR departments. This information is usually used to develop new policies of the department. Moreover, they can adopt the practices used in other organizations. For instance, they can adopt 360-degree performance assessment which is often used by healthcare organizations (Ogrinc & Headrick 2008, p. 129). These are the main aspect that should be taken into consideration by the management.
Productivity
HR department in Al Baraha Hospital does not have explicit and accurate productivity standards because the activities often vary, and in many cases, their work cannot be measured by the conventional qualitative measurements used by modern organizations. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about the cases when the department has to meet the individual needs of employees or settle possible conflicts. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to apply productivity standards. The only exception is the time which is needed to recruit new healthcare professionals. Nevertheless, in most cases, quantitative indicators are not always applicable to the work of this department. This is one of the challenges that should be taken into account.
Recommendations
It is possible to provide several recommendations that can improve the work of this department. The managers should give more attention to the suggestions advanced by employees. For example, these people can improve such processes as recruitment of new employees. HR Department should have an opportunity to interact with HR professionals working in other healthcare organizations. In this way, they adopt models and practices that have already been tested in other hospitals. Finally, this department should clearly identify performance standards for HR professionals. In this way, one can better evaluate the contribution of every worker. These are the main issues that should be not be overlooked by the management.
Hospital Information Management and Medical Records Department
Introduction
Information Management and Medical Records Department (IMMRD) is primarily responsible for maintaining documentation related to patients who receive healthcare assistance in Al Baraha Hospital. IMMRD performs the following functions: 1) collection and analysis of statistical data; 2) maintenance of the hospital archive; and 3) storage of patient’s confidential data. It should be noted that this department maintains records about appointments and prescriptions. These are the main functions that should be taken into consideration. Overall, it is vital for the successful performance of Al Baraha Hospital and its ability to give timely medical assistance to people.
IMMRD is located on the fourth floor of the building. This department employs 12 employees. Its current budget is $300.000. The work of this department is governed by the regulations imposed by the UAE Ministry of Health. In particular, one should speak about the Medical Liability Law which specifies the duty of care that healthcare organizations owe to the patients. It affects the safety practices adopted by IMMRD. On the whole, the following diagram can show how IMMRD is linked to other departments of Al Baraha Hospital:
Analysis
Quality
While assessing the quality, the manager of this department attaches importance to the following criteria: 1) the ease with which relevant information can be retrieved; 2) accuracy of data; 3) the security of confidential data. Overall, this department focuses on the needs of medical workers who are the main users of the information system. This approach is adopted by many medical organizations (Sharma, 2013, p. 260; Natarajan, 2010, p. 34). They carry out the survey of healthcare professionals who need to use the patient’s records. So, they are the main stakeholders. Yet, it is vital to remember about patients. In particular, the management of IMMRD attaches importance to the security of confidential data. This is why they do security checks to make sure that a person cannot get access to confidential data without authorization (Sells 2000, p. 48). On the whole, the results of such assessment are used by software designers. Moreover, they are applied to evaluate the performance of separate employees
Innovation
The management of IMMRD attaches importance to innovation. In particular, much attention is paid to the modifications which can improve the user-friendliness of software. For example, one can speak about such a process as the retrieval of information. In many cases, employees suggest the changes in the design of software. Overall, the suggestions that are made by the employees are usually encouraged and rewarded by the management. Yet, at the same, senior administrators make sure that such modifications do not disrupt the functioning of the information system in Al Baraha Hospital. Finally, the recommendations of employees lay the basis for continuous improvement in this organization. These are some of the main points that can be made.
Performance
The performance of this department cannot be accurately assessed only with the help of quantitative methods. Admittedly, the employees of IMMRD attach importance to such indicators as the percentage of errors in the information system, the speed of information-processing and the waiting time of patients. Nevertheless, in many cases, their performance is difficult to evaluate in a numerical way. This issue is particularly relevant if one speaks about the security of data. This is one of the issues that should not be overlooked. Additionally, this management of IMMRD compares its practices to the work of similar departments in other hospitals. They attempt to adopt the procedures and practices used by other hospitals if these approaches can improve storage, transfer, and retrieval of information. These are the main details that are important for understanding the work of this department.
Productivity
Productivity is one of the issues that are not affectively addressed by the management. There are some numerical indicators that help them measure the efficiency of their work. In particular, they focus on the amount of time which is needed to enter patient’s data into the information system. Similarly, they look at the average amount of time which a medical worker needs to spend in order to find relevant information. Furthermore, such assessments are usually used to evaluate the performance of separate employees. Nonetheless, these data are not sufficient for the assessment of the performance. The problem is that a single breach of security can undermine the work of this department. These are some of the main issues that should be considered.
Recommendations
On the whole, it is possible to give several recommendations that can increase the efficiency of IMMRD. First of all, the employees of Al Baraha hospitals should mobile technologies that can enable them to access patient’s data as quickly as possible. Secondly, they need to implement training programs for healthcare workers who are not always versed in the use of information technologies. This approach can improve the management of information in Al Baraha Hospital. Finally, they should digitize the documents which are currently stored in the printed form. These are the main points that can be identified.
References
Latham & Watkins LLP 2012, Healthcare Regulation in the UAE, Web.
Ogrinc, G. & Headrick, L 2008, Fundamentals of Health Care Improvement: A Guide to Improving Your Patients’ Care. Joint Commission Resources, New York.
Natarajan, S 2010, Hospital Supportive Service, Excel Books India, Delhi,
Sells, D 2000, Security in the Health Care Environment, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Boston.
Sharma, D 2013, Hospital Administration and Human Resource Management, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi.