Healthcare firms across the world are struggling to contain huge operating costs and quality issues even though they have hired smart working and well-trained personnel such as clinicians. For healthcare businesses to achieve their goals both in the short and long run, they need a strategy, which is a plan that greatly helps organizations to handle issues in the context of uncertainty (Burns, Bradley & Weiner, 2011). Firms should view strategy as an appropriate tool to enable them to gain a competitive advantage utilizing limited resources. Using strategy, a company can know how it may achieve its goals through specific means, often known as resources. Healthcare organizations should approach strategy from the perspective of businesses that want to achieve the best outcomes in an industry that has several competitors. The management concept contains three key components that are a diagnosis, guiding policy, and action plans. The diagnosis part is what helps managers know what should be improved in the future, while the guiding policy is like a roadmap that clearly explains objectives. Action plans are strategic activities that will be used to achieve goals (Samuelson & Marks, 2011).
Competitive advantage in healthcare means differentiating an entity from the competition or business rivalry in the sector. To stand out in the sector, a healthcare facility should offer the best services and experiences that its rivals cannot match (Burns et al., 2011). For example, a facility may achieve a competitive advantage by offering several services in a physical location, implying that patients will not move from one location to another in search of care (Burns et al., 2011; Thomas, 2017). Some of the services that can be offered in the same location include massage, pharmacy, wellness programs, chiropractic, as well as superior care.
References
- Burns, L., Bradley, E., & Weiner, B. (2011). Shortell and Kaluzny’s healthcare management: Organization design and behavior. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
- Samuelson, W. F., & Marks, S. G. (2008). Managerial economics (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
- Thomas, P. (2017). Integrating primary healthcare: Leading, managing, facilitating. New York, NY: CRC Press.