The McKesson Corporation (also known as McKesson) was founded in 1833 as an importer of botanical drugs. As of today, it is a “Fortune 14 corporation that delivers pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and healthcare information technology” and operates in two segments: ethical/proprietary drugs and equipment and beauty/health care products in North America and beyond it (McKesson, 2014, p. 2). According to the company, it aims to distribute pharmaceuticals, technology, or other healthcare-related products “that make healthcare safer while reducing costs” (McKesson, 2014, p. 3). The company also develops new technologies and provides those to other hospitals and health systems. Sales to customers consolidate approximately 48% of the company’s revenues and research and development costs are $456 million (McKesson, 2014).
Addressing Healthcare Needs
The company uses “cloud-hosted population risk management” and analytics of health care data that allow it to generate predictive modeling techniques for individual or collective customers (McKesson, 2017). Using clinical and financial data, the company evaluates any possible risks and needs of a customer and creates a health plan. With this health plan, clients can see whether there are any risks for hospitalization or if they need to implement any health care interventions (McKesson, 2017).
The company’s website also provides numerous articles, blog entries, and personal opinions about health care management, prevention of readmissions, measurement of risks, and health care business predictions for 2017. For example, the president of the company points out that issues critical to health care include the development of data, prevention of diseases, and make health care professions more attractive (McKesson, 2017). The company develops various types of health plans, including InterQual, HEIDS, and MedVentive: each of those plans addresses specific needs such as evidence-based clinical decision support, quality of care, data sets to measure the quality of care, and management of high-risk patients (McKesson, 2017). As can be seen, the company approaches the problem of the aging population by developing technologies, frameworks, and plans that providers and payers can use.
Network Growth
The network growth in the USA is satisfactory and stable: the company distributes its services and wares in all 50 states in retail pharmacies, health systems, and hospitals (McKesson, 2017). Furthermore, the company also operates in Canada via its affiliate McKesson Canada. It should also be noted that the company provides international logistics and services in 14 countries (including France, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, etc.).
The strategic goals in network growth can be the following: the company needs to continue its further expansion in Europe, as well as in the USA and Canada. Celesio (the company’s European affiliate) does not operate in Spain, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and several other countries that are members of the European Union. The company is not present in the Eastern European market (Republic of Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, etc.), in Russia, and the Middle East/East Asia markets (Celesio, 2017). Thus, the company needs to focus on expanding in Europe, as well as in small towns and rural areas in the USA and Canada. At the same time, the company acknowledges that it is exposed to certain risks (political instability or currency fluctuation) due to its presence in the Western European market (McKesson, 2014). Operations that take place outside the USA can “be affected by changes in trade protection laws, policies and measures and other regulatory requirements” which might negatively influence the network expansion (McKesson, 2014, p. 15).
Nurse Staffing
The company provides various technologies to address the issues in nurse staffing. For example, it provides its customers with a program called ANSOS, a web-based manager of assignments and workload that allows hospitals and clinics to transform schedules to create a more patient-centered approach (McKesson, 2017). The program is based on nursing documentation, provides patient assessments, and allows creating a flexible staffing environment (McKesson, 2017).
The company also advises reducing unnecessary tasks and interruptions that adversely influence nurses and their ability to provide quality care (McKesson, 2017). The corporation suggests using a patient tracking system to avoid unnecessary telephone calls and help nurses acquire information more quickly. If clinics and hospitals want to reduce losses, they have to provide nursing leaders with “accurate predictive, real-time and retrospective data” (McKesson, 2017). Analyzing existing data to provide and support decision-making is often more effective than making a rapid decision when there is no time left. The company’s goals are to engage the approaches they claim to be efficient. Moreover, the company also needs to provide more information about available jobs for nurses at McKesson in the USA since their website mostly contains information about positions in Canada (McKesson, 2017). The company also warns the website users that unauthorized career opportunities are presented by individuals who claim to be McKesson representatives but are not. The company needs to address the fraud so that its reputation in workforce management does not come to harm.
Resource Management
The company’s resource management is effective and consists of various programs that support human capital’s development and improvement of employees’ performance. The company aims to foster employee development and align personal aims and objectives with business goals (McKesson, 2017). Employees are encouraged to suggest programs and frameworks that will help the company maintain environmental sustainability or improve their internal processes (McKesson, 2017). Furthermore, the company should continue offering its employees training at the McKesson Center for Learning, which positively influences the allocation of resources.
The company admits that it is dependent on sophisticated information systems. This is the reason why McKesson is mainly focused on maintaining confidentially of the information it possesses; the corporation invests significant capital in the research and development to support and protect the Technology Solutions segment (McKesson, 2014). The company should continue investing in research and development since more hacker attacks and security breaches are likely to happen.
Customer Satisfaction
The company uses patient satisfaction surveys to evaluate customer satisfaction. It also provides different software for their customers so that clinics and hospitals can evaluate patients’ satisfaction as well. McKesson (2017) does not explicitly state whether it uses its software to test customer satisfaction or engages other approaches. However, the company’s affiliate Health Mart was ranked highest in customer satisfaction in a study conducted in 2016 (McKesson, 2017). The J.D. Power 2016 Pharmacy Satisfaction Study was used to evaluate customer satisfaction with chain drug pharmacies in the USA (McKesson, 2017). Thus, the company relies both on internal and external programs to evaluate its customer satisfaction.
The company should develop an internal customer satisfaction program that will include various types of reviews, such as complaints, suggestions, and comments. Providing electronic and paper surveys is also an option. Although the company admits it uses such types of surveys, it does not provide information about the results of these surveys, which can lead to skewed data since there is not enough transparency. Text message reminders, as well as online refills, are suggested by the company to its stakeholders as possible tools for evaluation of customer satisfaction. The company can use such tools as well to measure customer satisfaction and see whether customers’ experience needs any interventions.
References
Celesio. (2017). Celesio worldwide. Web.
McKesson. (2014). Annual report. Web.
McKesson. (2017). We stand for better health. Web.