Part 1:
a:Consumer-Driven Health Care
As a current or future health care executive, it is important to weigh the variety of things that consumers consider when making the decision to subscribe to health services offered by your health care organization. For what are your consumers looking, and what drives them to choose your health care organization? What are some of the items on which you need to reflect that consumers will use to drive their decision to utilize your health services?
Review the resources reflect on those considerations consumers keep in mind when selecting a health care organization to meet their health care needs. Think about what aspects of health care delivery in your health care organization, or one with which you are familiar, might be considered most important for a consumer to take into account when selecting where to receive health care.
In 2 or 3 paragraphs describe two different things that a consumer might consider when evaluating whether or not your health care organization will meet his or her health care needs. Provide a detailed explanation of each item and rationale for why a consumer would look at these items when making a decision. Be specific, and provide examples.
b: Medical tourism
Medical tourism is a much more common practice today for receiving affordable health care services. As the cost of health care continues to rise in the United States, increased numbers of potential patients are flocking to other countries to receive affordable health care services. While medical tourism might affect the financial posterity of your health care organization, it too might be a reflection of an industry’s commitment to fostering increased access to affordable health care services. From your perspective as a current or future health care administration leader, is medical tourism a social good?
Consider the potential benefits and consequences of medical tourism from both a consumer and a health care administration leader’s perspective.
In 2 or 3 paragraphs explain how the role of medical tourism might relate to social change. Be specific, and provide examples for both the consumer and the health care administration leader.
References:
Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc. (2016). Healthgrades. Retrieved from http://www.healthgrades.com/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (2016c). Hospital compare. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.ht…
Part 2:
Fuzzy Decision Making
When uncertainty exists, how does one evaluate the universe of possible outcomes? Unfortunately, there is no one steadfast rule on how to anticipate what a correct decision might be. However, there are a set of tools and practices that healthcare administration leaders can use to help make the best decision possible given data for a particular set of circumstances. One such example is that of fuzzy decision making, wherein a healthcare administration leader attempts to wrap human expertise around a set of guidelines to enhance workflow and performance. While not all circumstances may lend themselves to fuzzy decision making, understanding what these tools are is a useful practice when managing a health services organization.
Review the resources, Reflect on the concept of fuzzy decision making for healthcare administration practice. Consider how you, as a current or future healthcare administration leader, may engage in fuzzy decision making for your health services organization.
In 2 or 3 paragraphs explain how you would define fuzzy decision making for healthcare administration practice. Then, explain how you might implement fuzzy decision making to evaluate decisions when uncertainty exists. Provide an example where fuzzy decision making might be important for your work or life, and explain why. Be specific and provide examples.
References:
Albright, S. C., & Winston, W. L. (2015). Business analytics: Data analysis and decision making (5th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
- Chapter 6, “Decision Making Under Uncertainty” (pp. 222–297)
- Chapter 7, “Sampling and Sampling Distributions” (pp. 301–334)
Ekin, T., Kocadagli, O., Bastian, N. D., Fulton, L. V., & Griffin, P. M. (2015). Fuzzy decision making in health systems: A resource allocation model. JEuro Journal on Decision Processes, 1–23.
Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
This assignment requires the exploration of a variety of topics related to healthcare administration, including consumer-driven healthcare, medical tourism, and fuzzy decision making. As a medical professor, it is important to provide comprehensive answers that reflect the complexity of each issue and help students understand the implications of their decisions as future healthcare administrators.
Part 1:
a) Consumer-Driven Health Care:
When evaluating a healthcare organization, consumers consider various factors. Two of these factors include the reputation of the organization and the quality of care provided. A healthcare organization with a good reputation is a sign that people trust it and have received satisfactory experiences in the past. Quality of care is another important aspect that can attract or deter consumers from seeking medical services there. Factors that contribute to quality of care include access to specialized services, well-trained staff, and modern equipment. For instance, an organization that can provide a wide range of specialty services, including cardiac and neurology, under one roof, is more likely to attract patients regardless of cost.
b) Medical tourism:
Medical tourism can be a social good for both consumers and healthcare administrators. For consumers, medical tourism provides access to affordable health services that would otherwise be too expensive locally. On the other hand, healthcare administrators can benefit from medical tourism through increased revenue as patients seek specialized services or treatments not available within their home country. At the same time, this may raise questions about the quality and safety of medical tourism services and the impact they have on the health and well-being of patients.
The role of medical tourism in social change may involve new policies, regulations, and agreements to ensure that patients get the highest quality of care at a fair price. Healthcare administrators can work towards improving the quality and safety of medical tourism services by partnering with accredited institutions abroad. Additionally, they can strengthen local healthcare systems to offer similar services at affordable prices, hence reducing the need for medical tourism.
Part 2:
Fuzzy Decision Making:
Fuzzy decision making incorporates both human expertise and technology to increase efficiency, accuracy, and consistency in decision making. It involves understanding the reliability and accuracy of data in the absence of clear information to make informed decisions. Healthcare administrators can use fuzzy decision-making tools such as heuristics and cognitive biases as a guide in making complex decisions.
An example where fuzzy decision making may be important for medical administrators is in allocating resources during natural disasters. For instance, fuzzy decision making can help the administrators allocate resources such as medical personnel and equipment by considering the severity of the incident and the available data on the geographic areas affected. This can save lives and minimize the impact of the disaster.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this assignment has explored various topics that healthcare administrators should understand, including consumer-driven healthcare, medical tourism, and fuzzy decision making. As medical professors, it is important to educate students on the complexities involved in healthcare administration and how to navigate them, given the dynamic nature of healthcare.
