The Cleveland Clinic is a charitable, interdisciplinary academic medical facility that provides clinical and inpatient treatment, research, and teaching. It is commonly utilized in 13 adults and nine pediatric specialties and has proven to be particularly effective in 18 adult surgeries and disorders (Cleveland Clinic, n.d.). It provides general medical and surgical care. The organization has strengths and weaknesses that can hinder progress and reduce effectiveness. The organization has strengths but requires extensive analysis and strategy, as cybersecurity, organizational structure, employee negligence, and price transparency remain low.
Analyze the Internal Environment
The internal environment of the organization is ambiguous. Many unresolved problems greatly affect the effectiveness of the company and its employees. There are many negative reviews from former patients on various Web sites, describing mainly two problems – physician negligence and cybersecurity. These issues are very important, especially in the Cleveland Clinic. Thus, these problems must be solved because soon, the trust of a growing proportion of patients may be finally undermined.
Patient Experience
The first problem with Cleveland Clinic may be poor organization within the company. Many patients claim to wait on hold to make an appointment. Many employees are late for appointments and are negligent. People have to travel to the clinic from other cities, and the staff can easily reschedule the appointment for another day right before the appointment. The effectiveness of a doctor who is constantly distracted or irritated by factors in the workplace will decrease. The principles of corporate culture that a doctor learns when hired only sometimes correspond to his or her values and may be partially or completely ignored in his or her further work in the clinic. This makes it impossible for the doctor and the clinic management to continue cooperation and often leads to dismissal.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity may be the second internal problem of a clinic. Cybersecurity in medicine is becoming increasingly crucial. Factors such as the fast move to remote working, the rise of telemedicine, and the added demand for resources that many businesses are experiencing have created new vulnerabilities and cybersecurity challenges. In 2020, there was a large-scale hacking assault that left hospitals especially exposed, as it might result in the cessation or delay of potentially life-saving care (NBCUniversal News Group, 2020). These attacks may indicate that data is poorly protected and requires improvements in cybersecurity.
Analyze the External Environment
Political
Public Affairs works with Cleveland Clinic’s Health and Community Partnerships department to address key issues affecting people’s lives in the areas where Cleveland Clinic patients live and work, working with mayors, councils, law enforcement, and other local authorities. This can significantly impact the organization’s implementation of its goals, objectives, and vision, as these policies increase patient ratings and trust, which can greatly accelerate the organization’s growth.
Economic
Cleveland Clinic functions as a significant economic engine in the areas it serves, fulfilling its purpose. The Cleveland Clinic’s operations also supported about 133,000 jobs in Ohio, generating $8.78 billion in revenue (Cleveland Clinic, n.d.). Recently, however, the clinic began to make losses. Cleveland Clinic CEO and president Tom Michalewicz told staff that the nonprofit expects more than $200 million in operating losses but will continue to focus on growth (Muoio, 2023). This affects the effectiveness of the clinic, therefore affecting the organization’s goal and the implementation of the mission statement.
Social
On social issues, the organization confronts patient skepticism. Even though the Cleveland Clinic is a world-class clinic, residents of the predominantly poor nearby city do not trust the institution. As part of the Corridor of Opportunity initiative, the organization is tearing down some communities to offer potential patients convenient transit alternatives, resulting in unfair treatment. This problem can affect the organization’s vision and mission achievement because, in the pursuit of convenience, owners violate their claim that everyone deserves health care and the same treatment. As public health programs gain momentum, healthcare providers must address social issues to improve health on a large scale.
Technological
The company is committed to medical innovation and many advances. Cleveland Clinic’s innovations transform patient care worldwide, bringing the company’s goal closer to fulfillment. In order to provide state-of-the-art patient care, the clinic also makes extensive use of telemedicine. Patients with chronic conditions are the most likely candidates for such an appointment. Clinicians make administrative decisions to reduce costs, allowing them to devote more time to patient care. These expanded opportunities depend on robust technology, and IT networks to provide the online, mobile, and virtual experiences that people demand and receive in other areas of their lives. To support this trend, organizations may need to change their mission and vision to steer them toward technology. This factor could significantly impact the organization’s goal of providing better patient care.
Environmental
Cleveland Clinic encourages a safe ecosystem in order to foster healthy communities. Climate change, natural resource shortages, and growing toxicity pose various difficulties to global human health and the healthcare system. The Cleveland Clinic sees climate change as a threat to the healthcare system and the institution. Green teams led by caregivers assist OHE in achieving a uniform strategy for sustainability across all sites (Van Iterson et al., 2021). The business creates operational procedures that employ greener components and avoid using chemicals to save natural resources. These actions tune the organization’s purpose and vision to preserve the environment, which will help achieve its mission.
Legal
The organization has frequently been the object of billing transparency allegations. A new lawsuit was filed against the Cleveland Clinic in 2020, presenting shocking accusations regarding the clinic’s operations (Walsh, 2020). The patient claims she paid a portion of her medical cost, but the clinic did not record these payments. The clinic must resolve this issue as soon as possible, or patient trust will be permanently eroded, perhaps leading to more difficulties. The organization’s actions violate its vision and purpose, which makes it legally unreliable and will slow down the achievement of its mission.
Evaluate the Competitive Advantage of the Organization
The first advantage of the organization is that its branches are located in many large cities, which makes it accessible to a wide range of potential customers. This organization employs more than 60,000 people, which makes it attractive from the employment side (Reiss, 2019). The clinic is a leader in innovation, providing new technologies to other organizations, making it more competitive and differentiated. As mentioned above, the company considers current environmental issues in shaping its activities and contributes to solving them.
Examine the Role of Stakeholders
The clinic attracts stakeholders, which significantly affects its development. This action helps to save time, increase resources, distribute responsibility, and gain missing knowledge and psychological support, but it is necessary to understand that full equality is unattainable; it is a conditional concept. Since there are some problems in the organization, stakeholders can help to solve them. The clinic cooperates with insurance companies, the government, and partners such as charitable foundations.
Oscar
Oscar, the insurance business, maybe the first to show interest. Each Cleveland Clinic + Oscar member will have access to the Cleveland Clinic network, which includes over 4,500 full-time doctors and 14,500 nurses practicing in 140 specialties and subspecialties at our main campus and neighborhood hospitals, family health clinics, and health and wellness centers (Coutrd, 2018). Oscar has collaborated with Cleveland Clinic to bring patients’ health insurance on board with clients and doctors. This relationship is important to the organization since it allows the clinic to attract more patients and increase its capabilities.
Foundations for Philanthropy
The Clinic also collaborates with numerous charitable foundations, for which Foundations for Philanthropy was founded as a partner organization. This collaboration aims to teach aspiring professionals the most effective ways to make a positive difference in their communities by partnering with philanthropic organizations. Participants learn about the history of philanthropy in Cleveland, meet community leaders, and actively participate in philanthropy, from defining ideals to evaluating NGOs to making funding decisions. This foundation is extremely important to the Clinic because it satisfies the philanthropic purpose of the organization.
Adventure Travel Trade Association
The Adventure Travel Trade Association has issued COVID-19 health and safety recommendations for three categories of adventure recreation – hiking, biking, and rafting – and a complete industry guide prepared in conjunction with Cleveland Clinic. Thanks to ATTA and its members, nobody in the tourist sector has to pay to access and use these recommendations. This training will assist professionals who want direction and experience adopting safety management systems and procedures, such as the new COVID-19 Guidelines. This relationship advances the organization’s objective of making health care accessible to all.
Assess the Services Provided
Innovative Products and Services
The organization has a strong potential to create innovative products and services because it has all the necessary resources and highly qualified employees. As mentioned above, the clinic has a department dedicated to developing innovations. For example, advances in RNA production, purification, and cellular transport have resulted in the development of mRNA vaccines for various applications, including cancer and Zika virus infection. This game-changing technology can potentially treat some of the most difficult conditions in health care in a timely and effective manner.
Equitable Care
The Clinic promotes inclusion, which improves the fairness and equality of care. Because it influences interactions between staff, patients, and their families, diversity is important at Cleveland Clinic and in other healthcare companies. As the biggest employer in Northeast Ohio and a worldwide healthcare provider, diversity is essential to the patient, employee, and community involvement. Employees are trained to approach various groups while offering equal attention to all. Diversity Councils and employee resource organizations seek to increase awareness and support for Cleveland Clinic employees, community partners, and patients.
Availability of Financial Support for Qualifying Patients
The organization aims to provide health care to all people, regardless of color, gender, or socioeconomic position. It is dedicated to assisting individuals who cannot afford health insurance or treatment. The financial aid qualifying criteria are intended to guarantee that CCHS has the financial resources to assist patients most in need. A patient may seek an estimate of treatment costs and receive financial help. In this way, the clinic promotes the idea that everyone is the same and worthy of good medical care.
Analyze the Organization’s Competencies and Resources
Professional Competency
Since the company employs a huge number of people, there is a shortage of personnel, and therefore there is an opportunity to devote effort to intellectual capital. Many highly qualified specialists and scientists work at the clinic and contribute to the development of the medical field. They provide quality patient care, create innovative therapies, and improve the community’s health. This is only possible because the organization can hire more than 60,000 employees and support their intellectual contributions with the necessary equipment and resources (Reiss, 2019). This increases the organization’s competitiveness and attracts new employees who are professionals and can bring their knowledge to the clinic.
Information Systems and Data Management
Offices and laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to make work easier and more efficient. The organization provides continuing education courses for its employees. Thus, the clinic achieves maximum results intellectually and maintains its position as a leading organization. Automated medical information systems allow for fast and efficient electronic document management, flexible patient management, operational accounting of the administrative staff, and control of all organizational and financial issues. All medical records of patients are not only in paper form but also in electronic form, which facilitates the doctor’s work.
Organizational competencies
The source of organizational competence can be technical capabilities, marketing skills or organizational resources, and staff qualifications. Organizational competence is a company’s ability to solve its business problems. For example, to produce and sell petrochemical products, to develop and implement new IT products, and to provide mass customer service. Determining the gap between existing organizational competencies and those needed to realize its long-term goals is a critical management task.
Managing the Continuum of Care
The organization uses telemedicine to support patient care. It allows the patient to contact the doctor at any time and get advice on symptoms or psychological help, which is often necessary for patients with chronic diseases. This consultation allows patients in small towns to keep in touch with highly qualified medical staff, which is very important to save time and money. In this way, even after the illness has ended, the doctor can help the client cope with the remaining symptoms or advise disease prevention.
Training Physicians and Staff
As mentioned above, the organization provides professional development courses to enhance the knowledge and competence of its staff, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the clinic. There are also various meetings within the company since the staff includes employees with extensive medical experience. They can share knowledge and guide and supervise less experienced employees. In this way, the company maintains its position in the medical services market and arouses the trust of many patients and investors.
Recommendations for the Future
Based on patient feedback, the main problem is some employees’ negligence, unpunctuality, and irresponsibility. My recommendation would be to review the workforce and monitor performance closely. A short-term solution might be the possible dismissal of those staff members who have received complaints. A medium-term solution might be to change the organization’s hiring policy, and the company should hire only those interested in improving the medical field. A long-term solution is monitoring the quality of services, closely following customer feedback, and eliminating all customer comments.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Cleveland Clinic has very good potential. The owners need to address the company’s weaknesses seriously. The organization’s innovative activities are leading the way, but measures must be taken to maintain this status. These may include hiring new personnel to share expertise and improving the knowledge of current employees. This way, the clinic can reach significant heights and maintain its status for a long time.
References
Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Access anytime anywhere. Cleveland Clinic. Web.
Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Economic impact report. Cleveland Clinic. Web.
Coutrd, L. (2018). Clinic-Oscar pairing is exceeding hopes. Crain’s Cleveland Business, 39(47), 0003-0003.
Muoio, D. (2023). Cleveland Clinic anticipates $200m-plus operating loss in 2022, CEO says. Fierce Healthcare. Web.
NBCUniversal News Group. (2020). Cleveland-area hospital goes offline after apparent cyberattack. NBCNews.com. Web.
Reiss, R. (2019). Success at Cleveland Clinic and the future of Healthcare. Forbes. Web.
Van Iterson, E. H., Laffin, L. J., Crawford, M., Mc Mahan, D., Cho, L., & Khot, U. (2021). Cardiac rehabilitation is essential in the COVID-19 era: delivering uninterrupted heart care based on the Cleveland Clinic experience. Journal of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and prevention, 41(2), 88. Web.
Walsh, J. (2020). New lawsuit claims Cleveland Clinic uses ‘deceptive’ billing practices; Clinic responds. News 5 Cleveland WEWS. Web.