Introduction
The core essence of hospitals’ existence is the provision of care to patients. As such, patients and other hospital stakeholders expect that health care facilities should serve patients and give the best results. It is imperative to note that many resources are allocated to health care delivery. Oftentimes, patients fund their medical expenses expecting the best outcomes. Nonetheless, many are the instances where there are mismatches between quality care and resource allocation (Jewell, Moore, & Goldstein, 2013). As such, patients do not get the expected value for their funds leading to dissatisfaction.
There is, therefore, the need to provide value-added services in all health care facilities. Paradise Hospital, Inc. is one of the many hospitals that need upgrades in health care delivery. As a for-profit organization, Paradise Hospital should ensure that all stakeholders get the value for their investments. In addition, patient outcomes should be augmented by providing high-quality patient-centered services and adopting the most effective and efficient techniques.
This article is part of the pioneering strategy and blueprint to improve services value in Paradise Hospital and is in line with value proposition strategies of the most current global hospitals.
Value-added services in health care
According to Jewell et al. (2013), value in health care is a replication of the connection between quality of services (or patients’ outcomes) and the related resource allocation (cost incurred by all stakeholders in providing care). When the cost incurred in care delivery exceeds the quality of care provided, health care facilities have low-value services. Value-added services, therefore, are high-quality medical services that augment patients’ outcomes at the lowest cost possible.
Value proposition, on the other hand, pertains convincing the patients (consumers of health care services) that offering one service is more effective and less costly than adopting a related approach (Jewell et al., 2013). For instance, some physical therapy sessions are not only cheaper but also more effective than surgery in certain cases.
It is the expectation of all the Paradise Hospital stakeholders that costs incurred should be equal to or less than the quality of services provided.
There are numerous reasons why services in any health care facility should be of the highest value. Adding value to existing modes of services delivery is, therefore, paramount. For instance, patients give medical facilities their essence and are a key pillar in health care delivery. It is worth noting that patients/customers are a source of income to hospitals, especially for for-profit organizations such as Paradise Hospital (Torpie, 2014).
Therefore, it is justified that patients should get value for their money. Further, fatalities, risks, discomforts, inconveniences, costs of invasive procedures, and long hospital stays can be reduced if hospitals offer value-added services (Hull, Thut, Cheng, Kaufhold, & Brown, 2016; (Jewell et al., 2013).
Moreover, it is argued that healthcare is a business and, thus, economic costs incurred should be treated as one of the central elements in the health care delivery (Torpie, 2014). Investors in health care expect the highest returns on their investments at the lowest cost. Value-added services reduce the costs of operations and improve outputs. It, therefore, matters to all stakeholders that value is added to care delivery (Jewell et al., 2013).
Identifying key areas that need change and the data collection methods
Paradise Hospital, Inc. needs changes in some of its operations and resource allocation to foster the provision of value-added services. Therefore, a system should be put in place to identify the specific areas that need change. A team of experts in data collection should be used to collect primary and secondary data. Data analysis should then be done and recommendations made.
According to Torpie (2014), customers/patients are a key source of information pertaining health care facilities. Paradise Hospital’s customers have pertinent information pertaining the quality of service delivery. Data collection, therefore, will include using questionnaires and creating feedback avenues where customers leave comments on what areas they need to be changed.
The Paradise Hospital investors have paramount interests on services delivery and return on investments. As such, information should be collected from investors and other key stakeholders.
As The Paradise Hospital focuses on adding value to healthcare services, it is of paramount importance that stakeholders ensure that the methods adopted are evidence-based. Therefore, secondary data should be collected from published, relevant and the most current articles on value proposition in health care. In addition, comparative studies can be done among other well-performing health institutions. Value proportion benchmarking will be carried out to compare the related areas and consideration on improvements made.
Health care accreditation bodies are key in setting quality control procedures and policies. Data will be collected to on the most current recommendations and policies to ensure that the introduction of changes does not contravene basic patient care requirements.
Specific areas that need value addition and value proposition
Using evidence-based techniques, primary, and secondary data will reveal that numerous areas in The Paradise Hospital need value addition. Some of the key areas that need value proposition include, appropriate use of resources, technology, communication, and improving patient-centered approaches to services delivery.
The Paradise Hospital administration should ensure that resources are allocated in the most efficient ways. As such, prudence and priority should inform all decision-making processes that pertain to resource allocation. Whenever there are more than one alternatives of providing care, resources should be allocated to the cheapest alternatives with the best outcomes. For instance, the surgery department requires many resources and, therefore, all the alternatives should be explored. In instances where therapy has similar or better outcomes, it should be considered since it is cheaper.
Using obsolete technology is both ineffective and more expensive. The Paradise Hospital should consider replacing some of its obsolete technological devices. Modern technology is more effective as it cuts the running cost while augmenting patients’ outcomes.
The Paradise Hospital administration should also consider adopting more patient-centered approaches to service delivery. It is apparent that patients are the center of any health care system (Heidenreich, 2013). In addition, there are paradigm shifts in the way customers regard quality services and value for their money (Cromwell, Trisolini, & Pope, 2011).
The Paradise Hospital administration, therefore, should adopt service provision techniques that show respect for customer/patient preference, needs, and values (Heidenreich, 2013). Proper client engagements and timely communication should be considered. Consequently, the patients will feel involved in all clinical decision and outcomes. Moreover, The Paradise Hospital administration should embrace the best model of communication to all the stakeholders while investing in research and development.
Conclusion
The relationships between cost incurred and services delivered in many healthcare systems and hospitals reveal low-value services. Oftentimes, the costs incurred in health care delivery exceed the quality of services delivered.
Value-added services are, therefore, necessary in many hospitals, including for-profit organizations. The Paradise Hospital administration should consider adding value to most of its services to realize utmost patients’ outcomes and make profits.
References
Cromwell, J., Trisolini, M. G., & Pope, G. C. (2011). Pay for Performance in Health Care: Methods and Approaches. North Calorina: RTI Press Publication.
Heidenreich, P. A. (2013). Time for a Thorough Evaluation of Patient-Centered Care. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 6, 2-4. doi: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.112.970194.
Hull, B. L., Thut, M. C., Cheng, S. J., Kaufhold, D. M., & Brown, S. R. (2016). Changing the Culture of a Large Multihospital Acute CareTherapy System to Value-Added Through Best Practice Guidelines: A Quality Improvement Project. Journal of Acute Care Physical Therapy, 7(2), 47–54.
Jewell, D. V., Moore, J. D., & Goldstein, M. S. (2013). Delivering the Physical Therapy Value Proposition: A Call to Action. American Physical Therapy Association, 104-114. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20120175.
Torpie, K. (2014). Customer service vs. Patient care. Patient Experience Journal, 1(2), 6-8.