Effective Communication in Healthcare Management - Report Example

Abstract

This paper explains who the stakeholders are in a hospitalist model; it explicates the stakeholders who should be included in the analysis to evaluate the adoption of the hospitalist model of care. The paper performs a stakeholder analysis, assessing their interest and the stakes, and develops strategies for effective communication, gaining support, and minimizing opposition. The paper also explains the hospitalist model in both a traditional and modern perspective, and how to improve it. The essence of the stakeholder’s analysis is well elaborated in the paper under this topic, demonstrating the capabilities of identifying all parties with interest. A thorough assessment of the stakeholder’s interest in the stake is well addressed too. Methods of analyzing the stakeholders are well detailed and well illustrated in form of tables. As a recommendation, strategies for effective communication, gaining support, and minimizing opposition are detailed. The paper concludes that the senior executive should identify and categorize the stakeholders to devise a communications plan.

Keywords: Stakeholders, Hospitalist model, Effective communication

Introduction

Stakeholders are one of the most vital concepts in health care. Leaders who are effective know their stakeholders and pay much attention to the hindrances that distort communication. In most situations, health care organization are located in complex stakeholder environment. Conversely, hospitals face a range of critical issues and need members of their medical staff to assume a role in addressing them. This paper is an evaluation of stakeholders, included in a stakeholders' analysis to assess adoption of a hospitalist model of care. Stakeholder analysis is one of the first steps that should be taken in any change project. It enables the identification of interest groups that ought to be included in the change. The more significant the stakeholder is to the positive progress of the project, the more time period and resources are need to maintain their involvement and commitment.

Hospitalist Model

In choosing stakeholders, there has to be considerations to take into account, for instance, the fundamentally changed process of the health care delivery. Traditional community-based physicians took care of the patients who required hospital admission but currently relinquish inpatients' care while interjecting other practitioners into the flow of care (Boonyasai et al., 2015). In this respect, there is need to improve the service delivery process by actively engaging various stakeholders such as clinicians, patients, administrative staff, and the user groups. Through proper planning and analysis, there is much facilitation of this engagement. Such an engagement could also assist in avoidance of conflicts and delays attributed to inadvertently failing to involve key stakeholders. To accomplish this hospitalist model of care is essential since it offers potential merits to the patients and the care providers. According to a research cited by Boonyasai et al. (2015), hospitals may minimize lengths of patients'-stay, improve care quality to particular conditions, and improve the level of patients' satisfaction through engaging various stakeholders. Concisely, the model exemplified by inclusion of stakeholders enables systematic quality improvement within hospitals.

Assessment of Stakeholder Interests and "Stakes"

To identify stakeholders in the analysis of the hospitalist model, a in-depth research is warranted. The most effective way to conduct such a research is by gathering a group of subject-matter experts, more so those that are well networked; this could be followed by the professionals brainstorming and subsequently adopting the most informed opinions and ideas. The strength of such an approach is the elimination of skewed and misinformed viewpoints. A flipchart, a list typed in a computer form for the group to see, would be appropriate in displaying the designed model.

It would also be significant to prioritize stakeholders once the list of names has been generated. The list should be formulated in terms of power or authority, influence, and the level at which they are affected by the project (Kociol et al., 2013). The names could be inserted into a four sector table. A vital acronym, as Kociol et al. (2013) could also be used to guarantee that all stakeholders are included in the list of the health service stakeholders 9 C’s listed below:

• Commissioners- the individuals that pay the organization to run its activities.
• Customers- the beneficiaries of the organization’s resources.
• Collaborators- those who work hand in hand with the organization to develop and effectively deliver its services.
• Contributors- the part that the organization acquires its content and products.
• Channels- the routes that gives a way to the marketers and the clients.
• Commentators- this is the group that offer opinions to the organization’s clients and others.
• Consumers- the group that is served by the organizations facilities, for instance, patients, families, and users.
• Champions- this is the group that actively promote the project.
• Competitors- the organization working around the same region in offering the same activities as the organization.

The Four Sector Table

High power

Satisfy

Opinion makers. Maintain satisfaction with project activities and appraise or assess their position frequently.

Manage

Core stakeholders that are supposed to be fully engaged through complete communication and consultation.

Low power

Monitor

In a situation where time and resources are stretched, this group may be assumed.

Inform

The clients or patients lie under this category; organizing them into groups or participating in active consultative work would be imperative to influence their opinions.

Low impact/stake holding

High impact/stake holding

In the case of mega projects with a huge number of stakeholders, a nine sector table may be utilized to give a broader definition of the stakeholders.

The Nine Sector Table 

High power

Moderate power

Little or no power

Little or no impact

Moderate impact

High impact

Developed Strategies for Effective Communication, Gaining Support, and Reducing Obstacles/Opposition.

As a senior executive, it is crucial to understand the key stakeholders and the way they can react towards a project. It is also essential to understand the best way to engage and communicate with them. To achieve such an understanding, it would be important to acknowledge the financial or emotional interests that they may have in relation to the outcome of the project whether positive or negative. The stakeholders’ motives ought to be understood in order to align them with the objectives of the project (Smith et al., 2015). A senior executive should have the capacity to discern the information that the stakeholders need to know about the organization or project and the way they would want to receive it. Projected opinions are significant to the organization’s project and should be based on accurate information. Consequently, the parties that influence the senior executive’s opinion should be taken into consideration. The importance of the senior executive opinion-influencers is of importance to the organizations and to the stakeholders. In a situation where the senior executive does not win the support of other stakeholders, it would be important to come up with a novel and effective strategies of managing their opposition. Direct communication with the stakeholders helps build a successful relationship with them.

Managing Stakeholders

A stakeholder’s analysis that does not lead into action is ineffective. It is vital for the project team to devise actions to win skeptics and sustain the enthuse supporters. Stakeholders can also be analyzed by examining their degree of synergy against their level of antagonism. Since stakeholders are diverse in terms of attitudes and opinions, it would be of significance to distinguish between those with low synergy, those with moderate antagonism, and likely opponents. In the implementation process of the change project, to improve the systems for clinical coding, it is essential to source coding by consultants. The project manager needs to ask the work group to identify parties that may be involved or influenced by such a change. A team should asses their relative power and influence within the system and produce a list.

Sample List

High power

Chief executive

Finance director

BMA rep

Consultant medical staff

Clinical coding manager

Finance credit staff

Medical director

Primary Care Trust

Clinical governance lead

Low power

Medical records staff

Medical secretaries

Clinical coding staff

Clinical audit

Junior doctors

IT systems manager

Low impact/stake holding

High impact/stake holding

By utilizing the above analysis, they may then design membership for the project board and the communication plan to sustain the information of the parties involved.

Conclusion

After the senior executive identifies and categorizes the stakeholders, the listing could be utilized to devise a communications plan, defining the information that ought to be provided to the clients and in which way. The senior executive should also prepare a briefing note for the project group members to guarantee that everyone knows the methods to be utilized. The group leading the project should also allocate responsibility and put relevant monitoring arrangements in place. To manage stakeholders, it is the obligation of the executive to ensure that they win the support of potential critiques and skeptics; this could be achieved by requesting the involve parties to identify groups that could be influenced by the stakeholders' opinions and subsequently implementing strategies for effective management.