Health Organization Case Study

Introduction

United Healthcare, established in 1977, is a diversified healthcare organization dedicated to better the lives of people around the world. Its headquarters is in Minnesota. To improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare, the organization has extended its efforts to the provision of improved benefit and health coverage services. The increased cases of Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs) in the health care system have called for health care organizations to be more responsive so as to recover from these threats in an effort to secure the Nation’s health care system.

Readiness in Addressing Citizens’ Healthcare Needs in the Next Decade

Currently, United Healthcare offers a wide range of programs and services with the aim of covering all health care needs of people. An enhanced performance of their health care system promises improved health care services and easy access to medical care in the next decade (Bendaly & Bendaly, 2012). The organization has also made various market reforms promoting portable and affordable health care by helping citizens to make well informed health choices. United Healthcare has also successfully adopted reformed reengineering that enhances their productivity improvement efforts as well as patient satisfaction. Regardless of the increasing threats in the health care system, United Healthcare has formed effective healthcare coalitions which they have combined with robust hospital-based systems, improving their responsiveness and planning preparedness at the local and national level (Bendaly & Bendaly, 2012). The management believes that resilient coalitions will be the key to the effective response in the event-driven medical surge. Establishment of extended coalitions will enhance the organization’s systems. United Healthcare has improved its Healthcare System Recovery (HSR) in an effort to revitalize and rebuild the affected communities. The recovery system helps in building partnerships, important in community’s restoration and future health resiliency. In the past several months, United Health has introduced post-incidence health recovery that sees to it that patients are left in the same position as they were before health problems. United Healthcare has incorporated fatality management, conducted via unified command structures, in their intelligence and surveillance networks to identify possible causes of public health threats. Fatality management has enhanced its capability of addressing citizens’ surges and the need for behavioral and mental health support. Information sharing has been of great importance to United Healthcare (Bendaly & Bendaly, 2012). Currently, information dissemination and sharing provides effective, durable and reliable information exchanges between analysts and physicians, as well as consumers of threat-related information. Exchange of information has enhanced the organization’s feedback system through the development of intelligence systems. United Healthcare has also brought into its system of medical surges in an effort to expand its health care system through the provision of subsequent and triage medical care. Through volunteer management, the organization has been able to coordinate the use of volunteers, which are important in support of domestic incident management and augmented operations (Bendaly & Bendaly, 2012). Improved operations’ management guarantees enhanced health care system preparedness.

Addressing Issues Pertaining to Network Growth

The pie of United Healthcare has greatly expanded in the past several years. Currently, the company is serving more than 40 million customers with tens of thousands of the overall workforce (United States, 2010). With increased organizational growth, there is a need for an increased number of representatives. In the past 10 months, United Healthcare has announced more than 600 jobs in Texas, Tucson, Kansas and Denver. The announcement follows the organization’s increased need to form more representatives to promote faster and efficient customer services. The organization has expanded its infrastructure to the North of Elm Street to create room for modern stations (United States, 2010). United Healthcare has also been investing in leading-edge technology through the use of dedicated educators, world class researchers and skilled clinicians vital for the accomplishment of goals outlined in their strategic plan as well quality promotion.

Addressing Issues Pertaining to Nurse Staffing

Nurse staffing is an important health policy and a consensus on the abstract level will be of great importance. This is because the conduct of nurses will have great impact on the patients’ safety. A survey by American Nurses Association (ANA) reveals that inadequate level of nurse staffing will influence the rate of medication errors, respiratory infections and heart attacks (Fabre, 2009). The level of nurse staffing will be affected by a range of external factors, such as immigration policies and shortages of registered nurses (RNs). United Healthcare uses several methods to address their nursing level issues. First, they have established fixed nurse-to-patient ratio-related units in all their departments (Fabre, 2009). This has helped in reduction of unsafe workloads. Second is public reporting. Here, patient outcomes and staffing levels of nurses will be enclosed to the public to ensure that there is compliance to standards thereby promoting transparent operations. They also conform to state reporting programs.

Addressing Issues Pertaining to Resource Management

Human manpower is quite an important resource to any healthcare organization and sound management will also be crucial. Human resources will compose of all the clinical and non-clinical staff responsible for individual and public health concerns (Fabre, 2009). The delivery of clinicians and physicians will largely depend on their motivation and knowledge. United Healthcare uses three main techniques to address their resource management issues. First, they have outsourced their services to external clients and organizations in an effort to convert their fixed labor expenditures to variable costs thereby improving efficiency (Fabre, 2009). Secondly, they have adopted strategies aimed at promoting equity in regard to systematized health services planning. Third is the better use of the spectrum of nurses to better coordination of patients’ services through coordinated teamwork in their health sector reforms.

Addressing Issues Pertaining to Patient Satisfaction

Measurement and reporting of patients’ satisfaction has been greatly emphasized in the health care industry in the past several years. The emphasis follows the incorporation of patient satisfaction measures into hospital reports and health plans by many health care units. The whole team including medical groups, researchers and clinicians has developed special interest in satisfaction of their patients not only to add to the organization’s bottom line but also to see to it that they give the best medical services (Crickmore & East Carolina University, 2010). United Healthcare has enhanced its processes and outcomes through provision of health status per se to influence patients’ satisfaction. Again, the organization has cultivated an environment that promotes quality improvement by making quality to be the main reason for existence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the analysis above shows that United Health will have to enhance its systems before embarking on technological solutions. The organization is required to analyze the stand by its healthcare providers in respect to the readiness levels. This way, they will know their needs in regard to their readiness outputs for accurate implementation of the ground reality.