Submit your solutions to the following questions. Write your solutions clearly and neatly.
Note 1: Answer the discussion questions in about 400 words.
Note 2: Cite your sources properly throughout your work and include them in a references section at the end.
1. Discuss the common sources of cost increases in healthcare.
2. Discuss why supply chain management is becoming increasingly important to healthcare organizations.
3. Research firms that won the Baldrige Award in the healthcare sector. Select two and discuss the factors led to their success in winning the award.The website https://www.nist.gov/baldrige has profiles and application summaries for all healthcare winners.
4. For a healthcare center or a unit of your choice (e.g. primary care dental clinic), identify and discuss the strategic issues and challenges it faces. Develop a strategy map for the center/unit for success in its challenging environment. Your strategy map should include at least eight initiatives (at least one initiative for each perspective) with specific targets.
5. Select five of the payment reform methodologies listed in Exhibit 3.4 on page 56 of your textbook and rank them on two scales: ability to improve quality and ability to reduce healthcare inflation (cost). Provide a rationale for your ranking.
6. Discuss how evidence-based medicine can be used to improve the healthcare system.
7. A clinic is building satellite outpatient centers to increase its market share. After consultation with the general contractor and internal and external agencies, the activities have been identified for the outpatient clinic plan. The following table lists the activities, their predecessor activities, and their durations.
Activity Description Predecessors Duration (weeks)
A Lease space – 14
B Hire director – 16
C Procure equipment B 12
D Renovate A, B 6
E Install equipment C, D 2
F Hire clinical staff – 5
G Staff training F 4
H Marketing – 11
I Final inspection E, G, H 3
a) Draw the network diagram for the project.
b) Determine the critical path and the project completion time.
c) Calculate the slack for each activity. Why is it important for a project manager to identify slack of activities?
8. Identify three common risks in healthcare clinical projects and develop contingency responses for each.