Case Assignment
In health care organizational charts, the vice president for finance,
also called the chief financial officer (CFO), serves under the
direction of the chief executive officer and is mainly responsible for
overseeing financial planning and controlling the organization’s cash
flow.
Read the roundtable article Laying the Groundwork for Value-Based Payment by Burtrie, Lee, Johnson, and Rotty (2013), which is listed in the Background for the module.
Identify which of the following financial management activities are
mentioned by the CFOs who participated in the roundtable: (a) evaluation
and planning, (b) long-term investment decisions, and (c) contract
management.
Summarize the examples as noted by the roundtable participants.
Length: 3–4 pages, double-spaced, excluding title page and references.
Assignment Expectations
The following guidance appears only in Module 1, but it applies to the assignments throughout the course:
File format: Your work should be prepared using Microsoft Word,
PowerPoint, or Excel depending upon the assignment instructions. For
assignments requiring video or voice recordings, use media formats that
are supported by MyTLC Courses as noted in our Trident Support page.
In-text citations and references: Be sure that all information and
ideas in your papers are supported by in-text citations and
corresponding references at the end of the paper.
Scholarly sources: At least two scholarly sources should be included
in your papers. Online sources must be limited to credible professional
and scholarly publications such as peer-reviewed journal articles,
e-books, or specific webpages on websites from a university, government,
or nonprofit organization (these have extensions .edu, .gov, or .org).
Presenting consumer sources such as e-magazines, newspapers, Wikipedia,
WebMD, or other commercial websites (these have extensions .com) as
references is not appropriate.
Scholarly writing: Use an academic paper format, not an essay based
on your opinions or experience. Avoid using the first person in writing.
Synthesize what you learned from the sources you read; write papers in
your own words; and cite sources within the text, as well as include a
properly formatted reference list.
Use of direct quotes: Use of direct quotes should be avoided. Only
use direct quotes when preserving the exact words of an author is
necessary. In the rare instance that directly quoted material is used,
it must be properly cited (with quotation marks and page numbers in the
in-text citation); quotes should not exceed 5-10% of the total paper
content.
Required Reading
Accounting Capital. (2014). What are accounting principles? Retrieved from
Laying the groundwork for value-based payment. Healthcare Financial Management, 67(2), 1-4.
Speizman, R. A. (2009). Tax-exempt status for hospitals: Where have we been – and where are we going? Healthcare Financial Management, 63(2), 62-66.
Tolbert, S. H., Moore, G. D., & Wood, C. P. (2010).
Not-for-profit organizations and for-profit businesses: Perceptions and
reality. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 8(5), 141-153.
Optional Reading
Internal Revenue Service. (2016). New requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals under the Affordable Care Act.
Retrieved from
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As a medical professor responsible for designing and evaluating college assignments for medical college students, it is important to test the students’ knowledge and understanding of financial management activities in healthcare organizations. In this assignment, students will read a roundtable article and identify the financial management activities mentioned by CFOs who participated in the roundtable discussion.
Answer:
The CFOs who participated in the roundtable discussion mentioned all three financial management activities, namely evaluation and planning, long-term investment decisions, and contract management.
Evaluation and planning were discussed in terms of assessing the organization’s current financial condition, analyzing financial data, and creating financial strategies to ensure long-term financial viability. For example, a CFO from a hospital in the Midwest discussed how they used an activity-based costing system to identify the cost of providing patient services, which helped to reduce the cost of care and increase revenue.
Long-term investment decisions were highlighted in terms of choosing investments that would benefit the organization in the long run. For instance, a CFO from a large healthcare organization talked about investing in new technologies and systems that would improve the quality of care, reduce costs, and increase revenue.
Contract management was discussed in terms of negotiating contracts with insurers and other stakeholders to secure favorable terms and conditions that benefit the organization and its patients. A CFO from a hospital in the Northeast discussed how they worked with managed care companies to negotiate contracts that provided the hospital with better rates and incentives for meeting quality measures.
In conclusion, the CFOs who participated in the roundtable discussion mentioned all three financial management activities, namely evaluation and planning, long-term investment decisions, and contract management. They shared examples of how they used these activities to improve the financial performance of their healthcare organizations and ensure long-term financial viability.
