The Primary Care Clinic

Introduction

Healthcare is one of the fundamental services that every government is mandated to avail to its citizens. Ailments have for long remained a chronic menace that societies try to overcome every day. The complexities that come with diverse causes of different ailments call for concerted efforts in combating diseases. It has necessitated the state to enact Health Acts geared towards regulating the development of health care facilities and monitoring the standards of services being offered by them. Development of private health facilities is also on the increase as a way of supplementing the governments’ efforts to ensure sustainable health care among the citizens. This report discusses the key political, social and economic forces that may influence the development of a private clinic. The report suggests suitable ways that may be used to measure the effectiveness of the clinic. Furthermore, the report describes how to approach decisions regarding clinics’ expansions and annual approval. The role of the clinic as a component of a health care delivery system in the community is highlighted. The paper also examines how health care policy has influenced the formation of outpatient clinics in the health care system.

Key Political, Economic and Social Forces That Influenced the Development of the Clinic

For a very long period, the United States’ health sector has been consistently ranked behind other developed nations (Igiede, 2010). Provision of reliable and quality primary health care has been a great challenge. The primary care clinic was established to help the nation diversify health care services and enable the public to access health services easily. There are several factors that influenced the development of the primary care clinic, some of which are political, economic and social. For instance, the main political force that spearheaded the establishment of the clinic was the creation of friendly and enabling legislative policies. The political wing developed policies that health practitioners found easy to comply with. Requirements for entry and operation in the health industry were reviewed and loosened to attract the private sector into the industry. Such legislation provided a friendly environment for the establishment of health care centers in the country. Due to the friendly policies, the primary care clinic was developed.

Economic forces have an impact on the growth and development of health care institutions. The past years were characterized by economic challenges. Most health service providers withdrew their services as a result of lack of funds. In recent times, the United States’ economy has stabilized attracting the development of health care system. Introduction of funding and aids to the health service organizations played a key role in the establishment of the primary care clinic under discussion. Stability of the economy has enabled the clinic to grow and expand rapidly. Access to government funding and other aids enables the clinic to run its operations effectively and offer quality services efficiently to the citizens.

Social discrimination is largely practiced in the United States (Igiede, 2010). The discrimination has a great influence on the development of primary health care centers. For instance, most of the health care centers were established to cater for the poor people who cannot afford health insurance services. It is the same reason that stimulated the development of the given primary health clinic. Emergency of social classes led to the worsening of health status in America since only the rich could access health services.

Mission Statement

An effective mission statement for this clinic would be, To promote a healthy and productive society through provision of quality preventive and curative services. For this organization, it is a comprehensive mission statement because it articulates clearly on the aspect of productivity of the society in steering any meaningful development; a fact that is pegged on the excellent health of each individual in the society. To achieve it, the clinic focuses on its commitment to deliver quality preventive and curative services.

Performance Measures that Would Be Used to Measure the Clinic’s Effectiveness

The success of the clinic depends on the performance measures established within the organization. The measures have to be effective, reliable and comply with the organizational set-up. When the right performance measures are in place, the management is able to know whether a firm is growing or not. Correct measures also enable the institution to discover strengths and weaknesses, and rectify where necessary to boost its performance. The primary care clinic will use several performance measures in a bid to determine its effectiveness.

In this scenario, a manager should initiate a customer command performance measure (Blankenau, 2011). This performance will be measured basing on the number of patients and visitors received by the clinic. A health institution is a service-based industry and can easily detect its effectiveness by paying close attention to the number of clients received. An increase in the population seeking the clinic’s services is a clear indication that the services offered are satisfactory and pleasing. A large client base of the institution encourages both the staff and management to go an extra mile in service provision, leading to increased effectiveness and quality service delivery. Being an institution that also deals with repair and maintenance, the measure of the customers is the best method to use while checking on the effectiveness and performance measurement. If the number of clients visiting the center is decreasing, it means poor performance. In the organization where the visitors are reducing, proper strategies have to be established within the clinic to ensure effective health care service delivery. The measure involves monitoring new clients and those on return visits.

The second performance measure to be used at the clinic is industry scope. The measure will rely on comparison with other similar service providing institutions founded at the same period with the primary care clinic (Blankenau, 2011). Comparing enables the clinic to identify its current state and the position it holds in the health industry. If the comparison results place the clinic above other health care service providers, it indicates the public command it has over other centers. Topping other service providers shows that the primary care clinic is effective in service delivery. A top rank is a motivational challenge to the clinic to improve its services more in order to maintain the top position in health care service delivery. Lagging behind similar service providers means that the institution is not competent and ineffective. Such a situation requires administrators to rethink on how to better services for objective achievement. Benchmarking with those institutions that are at the top can help managers to notice the differences and improve on areas of weakness. The comparison has to involve technological and infrastructural development for effective performance.

The third performance measure is accountability. To attain accountability, the manager should establish a clear audit system that keeps the checks and balances in every pertinent department (Brookfield & Smith, 2006). The manager should draw clear-cut lines between members of various departments to promote transparency and accountability. Finally, the manager should establish the feedback system through which clients can give compliments, criticism, or any creative contribution for purposes of enhancing the general well-being of the clinic.

How to Approach Decisions Regarding Clinic Expansion and Annual Plan Approval

Institutions always desire to grow and expand as fast as possible. Decisions concerning expansion have to be effectively dealt with to enable an organization to expand successfully without compromising the financial situation and service delivery. Decisions regarding expansion of the clinic and annual plan approval will be approached basing on the clinic’s financial position and effectiveness. For instance, the decision to expand can be welcomed warmly if the clinic is financially stable. Financial wellness enables the clinic to continue providing services to the public effectively in both original and new branches. Consultations have to be done amongst the departments within the clinic to enhance effective decision-making. Likewise, annual plan approval also depends on the two mentioned states of the clinic. Effective and quality care provision has to be considered, too. Expansion can be recommended if the clinic is doing well in terms of service provision. Effectiveness of the clinic calls for approval of the annual plan and expansion of the clinic to extend care services to wider areas.

The Role of the Clinic as a Component of the Health Care Delivery Systems in the Community

The main role of the clinic in the community is the provision of health care services to the citizens. Having 69 employees and operating two sites, the clinic prioritizes the health care needs of the citizens. The services provided by the clinic, including patient services and advanced diagnostic services, aim at sustaining lives and upholding the health of the citizens. The clinic also focuses on health care delivery to the marginalized groups to improve the health status of the citizens. Referral specialists at the clinic enhance the management of critical conditions and improvement of wellness amongst the citizens. Therefore, the work of the clinic as a component of health care delivery system in the community is health service provision and health upgrading. 

How Public Health Care Policy Has Influenced the Formation of Outpatient Clinics in the Health Care Systems

Public health care policy had a major impact on the establishment of outpatient clinics. For instance, the introduction and use of modern technology in health care systems led to the emergence of outpatient departments in health care institutions. Technology enabled the patients’ records be secured; therefore, it is possible for clients to be attended to without necessarily being admitted (Brookfield & Smith, 2006). The public health care policy is focused on the expansion of health institutions to enable health care services reach all parts of the nation. With the expansion, outpatient departments had to be created in clinics to allow more people to access health care services. The public health care policy also enabled health care systems to acquire funds from the government. The funds were used for the development of the institutions and expansion of health care services, leading to the development of outpatient clinics. Outpatient clinics have had a great impact on health care service diversification and improvement of health levels in the United States.

Conclusion

The contemporary society is embracing private clinics because they offer quality personalized services alongside the public health institutions. A number of medical practitioners are attracted into investing in private clinics following the favorable political policies and atmosphere that assures the safety of their investment, fair taxation and regulation of health care standards and welfare through the renowned unions such as International Labor Organizations (ILO). Besides, medical practitioners may embrace the system of pulling together resources by merging their individual healthcare initiatives into one health facility; thus minimizing waste while ensuring efficiency and effectiveness through labor division and specialization. Finally, the social environment created when professionals come together is very conducive for each other’s self-improvement through team-building and benchmarking from one another.

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