Managing Health Care

Managing Health care
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Even though the healthcare industry is a service industry like other, there three main features that are unique to the healthcare industry. As a result, the need for strategic planning in the industry could be a little different from other service industries. Therefore, this paper discusses three features, which distinguish health care from other service industries in addition to the reasons why strategic planning is essential for long-term success of health care organizations.
Unlike other service industries, services in the healthcare industry are resistant to automation. It is because the healthcare industry requires direct human interaction, which limits automation. Additionally, health care services are local because it is difficult to export healthcare services to a different country. Ultimately, health care quality is known to have a positive correlation with the amount of time spent receiving services (Sadeghi, 2011). For instance, spending one hour with a doctor is believed to improve a patient’s welfare more than spending ten minutes with a doctor.
Strategic planning is essential for the long-term success of a healthcare organization. For example, strategic planning coordinates the actions of separate and diverse sections of an organization in order to accomplish organizational goals. It is also notable that strategic planning allocates resources to maximize potential payoff by promoting change and growth through planning (Zuckerman, 2011). Ultimately, strategic planning enables healthcare organizations to set their priorities including issues such as lack of direction or profitability.
In conclusion, it is clear that the health care service ind...