Introduction
The creation and opening of a new health business in Greenville, South Carolina will be an involving process for both the management and the community. By opening a clinic, as a renowned administrator, my duty will be to determine the various units to be incorporated, design a contract structure for inclusion of medical staff and specialists and assess the prospects of the realization of profits by the facility.
In this project, I will be required to identify the medical needs of Greenville by identifying with the people of South Carolina. I will come up with a framework that will address the needs of the departments of dermatology, cardiovascular, pulmonary, surgery, gynecology and gastroenterology. In this exclusive clinic, I will prioritize the procurement of specialists in the respective departments. The physicians will be required to treat and perform tests on various cases under their dockets. Consultation services will be provided and evaluation of the patients’ progress will be highly prioritized.
Incorporation of the various units
The clinic will incorporate units like dermatology, gynecology, cardiovascular, respiratory, surgery and gastroenterology. The dermatology unit will employ specialists in skin and skin disorders. The unit will be responsible for diagnosing, treating and providing consultations on skin related cases. Drugs and medicines will be provided as the unit will perform its roles independently. The dermatologist will be required to perform various tests on common and emerging skin conditions. Better preservation and skin protection services will be provided. Cases of facelifts and plastic surgery will also be addressed.
A mechanism will be formulated to ensure that the cost of skin care is cost-effective and desirable to the clients. This aspect will also provide a program that provides basic information on skin care and complications. The advantage of this particular unit is that it will provide easy and available information on the skin, cost effective services, expert-based consultations and efficient facilities. However, the unit will be expected to handle challenges related to the poor skin performance of specific clients, complications during plastic surgery and other skin procedures like facelifts and high cost of therapy like chemotherapy for skin cancer.
The gynecology unit will be another important section within the clinic that will facilitate for all gynecological health matters especially among the women. The gynecologist will be employed to perform diagnosis, treatment and consultation services. The gynecologist will perform screening tests like the Pap smear, cervical tests and investigation of UTIs during diagnosis. Patients will be required to either present their samples or avail themselves for sample collection by the hospital specialists. These samples will include virginal swabs, cervical smears, endo-cervical swabs and urine. The specialist will be required to prescribe effective treatment for the UTIs and STDs and provide consultation services on the same during treatment. Consultation will be provided on emerging and common infections like yeast and ovarian infections and cancers especially cervical cancer.
The advantages of this unit is that it will involve better performance of test kits like urinary test kits that will provide faster and better results, expertise knowledge and a wide range of operations in the unit ranging from screening to treatment that will ensure faster recuperation of the patients. The challenges to be expected will include high costs of tests and procedures and non compliance from the patients in respect to drug administration and therapy.
The cardiovascular unit will handle cases involving the cardiovascular system like the heart, blood and the blood vessels that include arteries, veins and capillaries. In this particular unit, specialists like the cardiologists, lab personnel and blood scientists will be employed to facilitate the running of this unit. Tests will be performed in assessing various heart related conditions like heart failure, stroke, hypertension, tumors, bloody-cardia, tachycardia and hock. After the tests have been performed, the specialists will advice on treatment options or management measures.
Consultation services will also be provided especially to the aging individuals on how to live a healthy life with or without the condition. Learning programs will also be availed to enlighten the neighborhood on conditions of the heart and blood. The blood unit will handle different conditions like leukemia, anemia, phenylketonuria and hematuria. The advantages of this unit are that the facility will include better analysis of blood and cardiovascular samples, availability of expertise knowledge and machines and a wide variety of heart procedures like open heart surgery.
The challenges of the unit will include high cost of obtaining medical care especially heart surgery and therapy, chances of complications like persistent hemorrhage by certain cases like hemophiliac and anemic individuals. The respiratory unit will take care of patients and aspects of the respiratory system like the breathing system. Respiratory diseases that affect mostly the elderly like asthma, lung cancer, throat infection and breathing difficulties will be evaluated. The respiratory tests will be carried out and effective treatment will be administered. Educational programs will be conducted to inform the public on the various cases affecting the respiratory system. This unit will have the advantage of offering a wide variety of treatment on pulmonary cases. It will also facilitate educational programs on smoking and cancer management. It will however handle the challenges of high cost of attending medical care and therapy.
The surgery unit will handle a wide spectrum of surgeries but mostly minor surgeries like the open heart surgery. Effective and qualified surgeons will be employed to handle a wide range of operations such as dialysis, transplants, CS and obstetric services. The surgeons will provide medical information on the surgery to be performed and enlighten the client on the possible outcomes to be expected. They will be expected to work for long hours depending on the complications of the operations. The advantages of this unit will include availability of a wide range of surgeries, faster operations due to availability of different specialists and information.
The challenges of this unit will include high cost of operations and treatment, complications in certain cases and patients incompatibility in cases of transplants. Surgical physicians from other units like the cardiovascular and respiratory will be consulted to provide views and opinions on areas affecting their scope. Treatment will be provided where possible to the patients and the units will monitor the progress of the patient. The gastroenterology unit just like the surgery unit will handle a wide range of conditions affecting the gastrointestinal (GIT) system. Issues affecting the stomach, mouth, intestines and anus will be facilitated in the units.
The issues will involve diagnosis of various conditions, running of tests, treatment and prescription of medicine. Technical cases like cancers of the colon, stomach and peptic will employ knowledge of the surgery unit. Tests will include smear and swabs like in the mouth, intestines or anus. They will be carried out in a well designed lab specifically for this kind of work. The unit will have the advantage of handling a wide range of cases and will target a large market and involve expertise knowledge and cost friendly operations.
Profit and non- profit variables
The clinic project will evaluate the possibility of its being a profit making enterprise and at the same time, a non-profit one to a given extent. The profit margins will be accrued through consultation services, treatment procedures, performance of tests and surgeries. The non-profit index will be incurred through programs of health awareness, immunization and provision of free medical treatment (Turban & Volonino, 2011).
In the various units, consultations will be carried out and the patients and clients will be expected to pay consultation fees. For instance, they will pay 25 dollars for holding consultations with the gynecologists and dermatologists, 30 dollars for consulting the surgeons and gastroenterology specialists. An accounting of the fees will be conducted of which a fraction which will include an accumulated monthly fee of 30% will be given to the physicians as part of their payment. Drugs cost a lot of money and therefore, the clinic will establish links with the various manufacturers and distributors so that they can be able to acquire them at a reduced cost.
The clinic will be buying the drugs at wholesale prices and in bulk and will therefore be able to make profits with consideration on the client’s ability to procure them. On treatment, the client or patients will be required to pay the costs of various tests carried out with respect to the type of tests like pap smears which will be expected to cost about 10 dollars while electrocardiography will cost about 50 dollars. The complication of the procedure will determine the cost of treatment. The clinic will be estimated to serve about 200 individuals from Greenville and its environs daily. The surgeries will bring more money as compared to other units.
The minor procedures will be expected to bring about 100 dollars with certain procedures like the heart transplant will be expected to cost 500 dollars. The non-profit index will involve free programs on diseases’ awareness and provision of free medical check-ups on certain conditions like hypertension aimed at promoting the clinic and creating awareness on the various services offered. Immunization of epidemics like influenza and polio will also be offered for free to enlighten the people of South Carolina on the various conditions. The clinic will also provide exceptional services to the less fortunate or needy cases from South Carolina. All these charges will not amount to profit but will be considered important community services offered by the facility to the people of South Carolina.
Contract structure
The inclusion of medical staff will involve four main clauses and these will be job advertisements, interviews, internship or probation and recruitment. The job advertisement clause will involve the advertisement of the various posts for the various departments (Rice, 2006). In the department of gynecology, there will be advertisements for post of chief gynecologist, his subordinates, lab personnel, the accountant and the nurse. Directions on how to apply and contact the firm will be provided.
The advertisement will be carried out in the newspapers, TV and other publications (Pinson, 2000). The second clause on interviews will scrutinize and attend to the most preferred and qualified candidate for the job. The interview will be performed in separate dockets and it will involve four aspects. The first aspect will be theoretical and will involve a question and answer form. In this case, the applicants will be asked questions about themselves based on what is reflected in their resumes and also on general knowledge. The session will determine the personalities of the interviewers based on their confidence and assertiveness. It will gauge their interpersonal skills especially with patients.
They will all be expected to show good interpersonal skills from the senior staff to the cleaners. The third clause will take the chosen individuals through internship or probation for half a year. They will be paid for this session but less than the contract fee until they have proven acquired the right skills for the job. This clause will also include attachés that will be ready to take over the jobs from employees who leave the facility for whatever reasons. All the probates will be under scrutiny and assessment. If proven worth and competent for the job, the final clause will be brought into perspective and they will earn a place in the clinic to work for a contract running from 2 to10 years depending on the agreement.
Hiring of a specialist
The units of dermatology, gynecology, heart, respiratory, surgery, gastroenterology and accounts will have their respective specialists. For one to become a specialist, he or she will be expected to exhibit profound knowledge and experience in the specific field of specialization (Moeller, 2007). He or she will be expected to have worked in a similar firm handling familiar or related cases. For instance, the appointment of surgeons will have to consider how well they are conversant with various surgical procedures. Speed will be of essence and therefore, the ability to perform technical operations at a realistic pace will be considered.
In hiring; the specialist will have to apply for the post based on an advertisement that will be posted by the clinic. Short listed candidates will be called for interviews. Their referees will be required to provide recommendations to the candidates. Before the specialists are given the job, they will also go through probation to assess their knowledge and skills. If the management is convinced of their qualifications, then the respective specialists will get hired.
Medicare or Medicaid programs
Medicare programs will be important in reaching out to the less fortunate and needy cases in South Carolina. The program will meet the medical fee of the patients who will have technical cases like cancer especially those who will not be able to meet the cost of accessing therapy. Although this program will be an extra expense for the clinic, the clinic will solicit for monetary aid from the government or the well wishers to contribute towards the hope giving venture.
The clinic will expect to receive donations not only from America but also from international organizations. In this respect, the management will have to convince the various donors that it will be able to sustain the program. The decision to accept Medicare will not be an easy one because a lot of factors will have to be considered by the hospital. First, there will be consultations between the management and various stakeholders on the possibility of Medicaid. Secondly, resources will have to be set aside to operate the program and lastly, the clinic will have to come up with a procedure of identifying the eligible cases (Ivancevich & Matteson, 2003).
This aspect will avoid giving the aid to able individuals and leaving out the deserving cases. The Medicaid program will make the less fortunate feel appreciated and loved since they will be able to receive the same care as the elite and the fortunate in the society. The practices will teach different individuals in the society on the need to understand the value of life and health. The government will also be able to channel its resources to the right projects by taking care of the health of the people of Greenville and the wider South Carolina region.
Conclusion
The incorporation of the various departments and units in the clinic will be a technical but promising undertaking. The technicality will be experienced during the hiring of specialists and allocation of resources. The utilitarian value of the healthcare facility will be felt through its wide provision of medical aid, Medicare programs and consultation services. The feasibility of realizing profits will promote the clinic’s financial undertakings but the non-profit index will benefit the community of Greenville. The hiring procedure will enhance better, qualified and competent staff to run the clinic.
For effective running of the clinic, the management, stakeholders, government and the public will have to play a part in making sure that all resources are accounted for and better medical care and aid is provided. The availability of good and safer medical care is every nation’s dream and in the US, there are concerns over the increasing number of child mortality and deaths among the young adults due to lifestyle ailments.
Majority of young people prefer to take fast foods without understanding the risks involved like cancer, hypertension and stroke. It is therefore important for the government to promote establishment of health organizations and medical programs that improve and address the wellbeing of different groups in the society in respect to health. The promotion of the health sector and especially the new health facilities like this particular one will help the people of Greenville to access medical care in a cost-effective way.
References
Ivancevich, J., & Matteson, M. (2003).Organization Behavior and Management of communication 3rd (Ed). Tetons, USA: Irwin.
Moeller, R. (2007). COSO Enterprise Risk Management: Understanding the New Integrated ERM Framework. New Jersey, USA: John Wiley Sons Inc.
Pinson, L. (2000). Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Business and Securing Your Company’s Future (6th Edition). New York, USA: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Rice, R. (2006). Home Care Nursing Practice: Concepts and application. Missouri, USA: Mosby Publishers.
Turban, E., & Volonino, L. (2011). Information technology for management (8th Ed.).Hoboken, USA: John Wiley & Sons.