The Primary Healthcare Clinic
Primary care clinics provide health services in a variety of settings, including inpatient, home care, day care, critical care, and so on. A primary clinic acts as the first contact for the future continued care for patients in a health care system (Macdonald, 2013). The management of a primary care clinic is important as it determines the progress of the healthcare system.
However, the provision of health care services by the primary clinic can be affected by various factors such as social, political, and economic issues. In this case, the primary care clinic is located 25 miles away from the city. Various issues have contributed to the proliferation of primary care practices over the last 20-30 years. Thus, this essay will seek to discuss the various factors that have contributed to the poor health care practices in this clinic, come up with a new mission statement to ensure that the clinic improves its business as well as consider various opportunities available to ensure the development of the hospital.
discount codeFactors that have Led to the Proliferation of Primary Care Services over the Last 20-30 Years
Over the last 2-3 decades, various factors have come to play, contributing to the proliferation of health care in the area. They include social ones such as the increased income, political factors such as good healthcare policies, and economic factors that have led to fewer facilities used in the health care practices.
Social Factors
One of the major social factors is the increased income of the population. Society has changed in the past few years in terms of improved education and consequently, employment. As more and more people expand their ability to afford healthcare, many individuals have seen the profitability in starting private primary care clinics (Macdonald, 2013). Additionally, due to the improved levels of education, many people have private physicians in hospitals who help them in regular checkups. With the rising need in physicians, many primary healthcare facilities have been developed.
Political Factors
Political considerations have also contributed to the state of urgent facilities and primary care practices. Due to the frequent outbreaks of epidemics, there have been versatile political views on the spread of health care services to cater for every individual. Congress has been instrumental in the passing of subsidized medical care, hence making it affordable for every individual. The government has worked on enabling the educational institutions in the country to enhance the medical studies (Macdonald, 2013). Many nurses, physicians, and other medical practitioners graduate from colleges each year, which has helped in improving the spread of primary care.
Economic Factors
Economic growth has helped in the spread of primary health care over the years. The improvement in the economic situation in the country has resulted in the growing incomes, which has helped many people to afford health care services. The need in health care services has also helped individual owners to develop private facilities. Lastly, the improved financial capabilities of many health care institutions have led to the development of modern technology used in primary care, which also contributed to the spread of medical facilities to many areas.
Mission Statement of the New Clinic
Taking into consideration of the location of the new health care facility, the number of health care workers, and the community it is supposed to serve, the mission statement should be aimed at the provision of quality health care services. At the new primary care clinic, the mission should recognize the value of every person and it should be guided by excellence and leadership. This should be demonstrated through balancing the commitment to the care for the poor and those in need. Building an environment that appreciates and values every individual in the community and ensures professional practice at every time should also be a part of the new clinics mission statement. The primary care clinic should also develop a culture of discovery in its activities and support health research (Porter, Pabo, & Lee, 2013). Lastly, the mission should include the clinics demonstration of social responsibility through the just use of natural resources. Through excellence and leadership, the health care facility will be able to offer quality services to all individuals in the community.
Direction to Consider when Developing Business
The new primary care clinic is the only health care facility outside the city. Since it is new, there are various development directions that it should take to develop its business. One of the directions should include an expansion of its services to include tertiary and in-patient care. The introduction of tertiary care would increase the number of patients being given care in the facility, and as a result, will raise the income received in the facility. Most primary care facilities provide outpatient services, but considering the fact that the facility is the only one on the outskirts of the city, this change will contribute to the rise in the income to the facility and its growth (Porter, Pabo, & Lee, 2013).
In addition, although the equipment required to start acute care services might be costly, the new primary care clinic can start the service by affiliating it with the two acute care facilities in the city. This means that the patients can receive treatment of acute ailments from the health care workers from the facilities in the city. The equipment can be brought to this new clinic from the acute facilities in the city, and they can work out the mutual benefits arrangements. Starting this service through affiliation with the large acute facilities in the city will ensure that people living outside the city receive all the care without having to visit the city.
Determining if the Facility Meets Its Goals
In measuring the performance of the new facility, primary care performance domains such as access, equity, and health care cost should be used. The goal of the new primary care clinic is to ensure access to health care services for individuals living on the outskirts of the city (Bodenheimer, Ghorob, Willard-Grace, & Grumbach, 2014). Access can be achieved through the availability of healthcare workers and the equipment necessary to provide care. The new primary care facility requires five family physicians, two nurse practitioners, two physicians, and twenty people of clinical support staff. Although the number of health care workers in the facility is not enough, the clinic can achieve its goal of providing wide access to health care in the area.
Another goal of the clinic is to provide equitable care to its patients. Thus, equity is another performance domain to determine if the clinic meets its goals. The distribution of health care workers is not even in all areas. The facility has only two physicians to serve the population in the area. The uneven distribution of staff shows that the facility does not provides equitable services, and thus, it is an area for improvement. Lastly, the goal of the facility is to minimize costs to achieve high profits (Porter, Pabo, & Lee, 2013). Therefore, the healthcare cost is another performance domain. Due to the limited number of health care workers in the facility, the health care costs are the small, which means the maximization of profits.
Opportunities Available for the New Primary Care Clinic
There are various opportunities available that the clinic can use to ensure the improvement its work. As a manager in this new primary care facility, I will use various situations as the opportunities to improve its work. First, being the only primary care facility on the outskirts of the city is already an opportunity itself. Considering the fact that the community grows, which means more opportunities in employment and education as well as comfortable spaces for young families, the expansion of the primary care to provide the tertiary and acute services will make the clinic the main healthcare facility outside the city, hence increasing its development (Porter, Pabo, & Lee, 2013).
Another opportunity for the clinic is the availability of large health care facilities in the city. The large facilities in the city include two acute care facilities and one tertiary care facility. They are fully equipped with necessary equipment, which enables the new primary care clinic to use this equipment through affiliation with these city facilities (Porter, Pabo, & Lee, 2013). Since the cost of acquiring this equipment at this stage might be rather high, starting care services and using this equipment from these facilities will help the primary care clinic to improve its services as well as income.
