Introduction
It is important to note that the selected healthcare organization is Inpatient Hospital Atrium Health, located in Charlotte, NC. Atrium Health is a non-profit health system that focuses on improving health outcomes by enhancing and promoting compassionate patient care, education, and innovative research. The key strengths of the healthcare organization include specialized musculoskeletal programs, burn treatment programs, organ transplantation, heart care, cancer care, and pediatric care (Atrium Health, 2022). Therefore, the impact of Atrium Health’s growth, services, and healthcare delivery are massive on the nearby communities of Charlotte.
Impact on Growth
The identified economic event is centered around an increased need for comprehensive cancer care, which leads to the opening of the Levine Cancer Institute II as an extension. The given institute reflects a massive investment done by the healthcare organization because the 260,000-square-foot building alone costs $125 million (Atrium Health News, 2019). It should be noted that expanding through the facility enables increased patient capacity, better support in terms of medical care, efficient care provision, and more innovation and research (Atrium Health News, 2019). The logical impact of the given growth is manifested in the fact that the facility will be able to serve and provide care for a larger number of communities suffering from these illnesses. For example, it is stated that “this new facility is an extension of the research and academic headquarters in Charlotte and will enhance cancer and hematologic services throughout communities in North Carolina and South Carolina” (Atrium Health News, 2019, para. 1). In other words, the hospital’s economic growth will expand its reach and increase the influx of a greater portion of the population.
Service
The identified service is a provision of free health screenings for the members of the nearby communities. The logical description of the service’s impact can be observed in the fact that many underserved members of the population will be able to obtain more detailed information about their state of health. It is stated that “’community benefit’ is a healthcare industry term that refers to the total cost of providing financial assistance to uninsured and underinsured patients; subsidizing below-cost Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements” (Atrium Health News, 2019, para. 14). Such a community benefit results in more access and quality of health in the region because many people, who cannot afford screenings, can undergo an extensive screening process and timely intervention. It is well-known that prevention is far superior to treatment in terms of costs, invasiveness, and effectiveness. Therefore, free screenings allow the members of communities to be aware and informed about their health due to the organization. The latter creates a reciprocal building of trust between Atrium Health and its community.
Impact on Healthcare Delivery
Atrium Health uses information technology in the form of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) to facilitate improved screening rates. For example, it is reported that “CDSSs can promote and facilitate ordering of cancer screening tests. The use of technology can promptly identify patients due for a test and act as a reminder to the PCP” (Kelsey et al., 2020, p. 1). In other words, information technology allows not only improves the screening accuracy itself but also expands the reach within a population. Based on this evidence, a logical conclusion is that cancer screening enhancement will likely result in better identification of early cancer stages, which will lead to a higher cancer survival rate due to timely treatment interventions. The Clinical Decision Support Systems are outstanding in helping medical professionals in the decision-making process by providing a clearer and more comprehensive framework with the inclusion of all key details and data elements. Therefore, it is safe to claim that healthcare delivery is significantly improved through better screenings.
Emerging Trends
To properly discuss cutting-edge emerging trends, it is important to review Atrium Health’s vision and mission. The organization’s mission is “to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all,” and its vision is “to be the national leader for health, learning & community” (Atrium Health, 2022, para. 3). Therefore, Atrium Health wants to move and progress towards leadership in health enhancements, education, and community well-being improvement. Following these missions and visions, Atrium Health’s latest emerging and innovative initiatives are centered around the Pearl with the use of Wexford Science & Technology’s telemedicine-based technology to design an innovation-oriented and research-focused district. It is stated that the Pearl “will be a mixed-use development featuring education, retail, apartments, a hotel, and an open community space, in addition to being ground-zero for entrepreneurial activity, research, and development,” all of which is aimed to greatly improve the Charlotte region’s economy (Atrium Health News, 2022, para. 4). In other words, one can easily draw a logical conclusion that the organization is creating ad building a project to improve research, innovation, and community health. The technology utilized directly supports Atrium Health’s endeavor in this regard because telemedicine improves community access to the services.
References
Atrium Health News. (2019). Levine Cancer Institute expansion increases services for region’s cancer patients.
Atrium Health News. (2022). Introducing Charlotte’s innovation district: “The Pearl.”
Atrium Health. (2022). About Atrium Health.
Kelsey, E. A., Njeru, J. W., Chaudhry, R., Fischer, K. M., Schroeder, D. R., & Croghan, I. T. (2020). Understanding user acceptance of clinical decision support systems to promote increased cancer screening rates in a primary care practice.Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 11, 1-10.