Current Business and Perceived Directional Focus of Telus Health - Essay Example

Section/# Current business and perceived directional focus of Telus Health From a cursory review of the information surrounding Telus Health, it becomes apparent to the reader that the current business that the firm is most intimately engaged in was that of software solutions for the healthcare industry. Although there are a number of firms within the market that seek to offer such software solutions, Telus Health has become one of the most prominent with respect to electronic medical records (also known as EMRs). Furthermore, from a brief overview of the company history and the way that the form organically developed, it becomes apparent to the reader that the main focus of the original business model was not necessarily EMR; however, as the market has shifted and key trends and needs have become noted, the firm has chosen to focus upon this specific aspect. As will be discussed in the preceding sections, this level of organic growth was most heavily impacted with regards to the acquisition of several key firms that offered software and logistics solutions with regards to the application of EMR (Goodwin et al, 2013). Finally, the current business seeking to broaden upon the way in which the Canadian health system integrates with and understands/utilizes electronic medical records. This is of course something of a gamble as it cannot be definitively determined which direction the health and governmental organizations that control the system might develop. Nonetheless, this is a gamble that Telus Health has been willing to take. Telus Business Strategy: As with any firm, Telus Health is most supremely interested in maximizing profits. Likewise, in order to affect such an end, it is necessary for the firm to grow into new markets, integrate with new products, and gain a higher level of customers/sales. Although there are many means to affect such an end, the particular business strategy that Telus Health has chosen to engage with can most definitively be described as one of acquisition. An acquisition strategy is a strategy that many firms/organizations would doubtless love to be able to pursue. However, there is a costly requirement in order to pursue such an end. Generally, firms that pursue an acquisition strategy have excess capital in reserve. In order to do this, it is necessary for the firm to of experienced a large degree of success in the past or to have assets that it is willing to leverage in order to affect such a strategy. A small company with extra capital may use an acquisition strategy to gain a competitive advantage. An acquisition strategy entails purchasing another company, or one or more product lines of that company. For example, a small grocery retailer on the east coast may purchase a comparable grocery chain in the Midwest to expand its operations. As the reader can see, the acquisition of KinLogix, MD Practice Software LP, and Wolf EMR have all served to underscore the level and extent to which the firm is leveraging the strategy of acquisition in order to boost profits. Explanation of Telus Health broader objectives In order to gain a larger share of profitability, firms generally seek to make gambles with regards to what direction they believe the industry is moving towards (Business Policy and Strategy, 2010). Accordingly, many times such gambles pay off. Conversely, many firms see their profits and viability wither and died based upon incorrect calculations of future markets in the direction to which current trends are pointing. Likewise, Telus Health has made a significant gamble with regards to the current market and prospects of the way in which the Canadian healthcare system will integrate with EMR. As such, the reader can see that Telus Health has come to the understanding that EMR will dominate the Canadian healthcare system in the near future. Accordingly, Telus Health desperately wants to be part of the transformation by acquiring as many EMR firms that coalesce with its mission and desired future mission as possible. This is done as a means of capturing the largest greatest market share within the EMR market and working to set the firm on a stable footing to be one of the largest sole providers of EMR solutions within the Canadian health care system. Such a strategy is quite risky did the fact that it is unknown which direction the Canadian health care system will move with regards to electronic medical records and with respect to the degree in which the current system will seek to integrate its own solutions or will contract with private for-profit businesses such as Telus Health. Explanation of future Telus Health strategy: Advice from a corporate perspective From the corporate strategy, it would be the advice of the student that Telus Health considerably the current rate of acquisitions that has been evidenced within the recent past. Due to the fact that Telus Health has spent nearly $1 billion within the last several years as a means of acquiring the technologies that had herein been discussed, it is likely that the firm is nearly fully leveraged and very exposed to any type of market fluctuations which might take place (Electronic Medical Records (EMR), n.d.). Accordingly, the best strategy at the current juncture would be to ensure that the firm is unstable footing and able to continue to generate profits so that the investments which a been made within the various acquisitions will be able to come to maturity and eventually yield a level of profitability (Lei & Ouyang, 2012). Furthermore, with regards to the business intelligence aspects that the firm exhibits, it is necessary for the shareholders to seek to understand the current and future movements within the Canadian healthcare system to a greater degree. Although it is not the understanding of this author that the acquisitions and decisions which have been made were made with incomplete or otherwise faulty information, the rate at which business and government can shift and change perspectives can be sudden and unexpected. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of the stakeholders within the firm to continually be aware of the needs and directions which the current Canadian healthcare system exhibits. References BUSINESS POLICY & STRATEGY Conference Paper Abstracts. (2010). Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1-152. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.2010.54503678 Electronic Medical Records (EMR). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.telushealth.com/health-solutions/electronic-medical-records-%28emr%29 Goodwin, J. S., Jinhyung, L., & Yong-Fang, K. (2013). The effect of electronic medical record adoption on outcomes in US hospitals. BMC Health Services Research, 13(1), 1-7. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-13-39 LEI, H., & OUYANG, L. (2012). Studies on Time-Lag Effect of Corporate Performance Influenced by Competitive Strategy. Cross-Cultural Communication, 8(6), 93-98. doi:10.3968/j.ccc.1923670020120806.ZRLO Read More