Decision Making in Health Care Essay Example

a question, managers can establish a precise framework that includes all relevant details.

Properly framed questions include specific setting, the outcome of interest, state of intervention, a time frame, and who will be affected. The proposed change is a 15% budget cut in a clinic that serves Medicaid patients in Harris County, Texas. The outcome of interest is the elimination or addition of services to provide the best patient care within the budget constraints. The time frame for the managerial changes and for the outcomes is the beginning of fiscal year 2014. Who are the relevant populations for this matter?

The clinic provides services to Medicaid patients, and in Texas, there are three groups of Medicaid recipients. These groups consist of families and children who meet income level and age or pregnancy status requirements; individuals who receive cash assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI); and elderly and disabled individuals who qualify based on income level, age, and physical or mental disability. As of May 2013, Harris County had 568,122 individuals enrolled in Medicaid, which accounted for the county's population.

The aim is to assess how reducing the budget by 15% will affect the services given to Medicaid recipients in Harris County for fiscal year 2014. The subsequent task involves locating sources that can authenticate or refute the collected information. This step holds significance both for individual research intentions and to verify the precision of staff discoveries. Numerous sources, primarily online, offer the required information. Competently conducting research plays a crucial role in developing an evidence-based response.

The search for information regarding the study is

conducted by referring to the Texas Health and Human Services 2013-2017 strategic plan and various online sources. Step three, which is about assessing the accuracy, highlights the importance of determining the quality of the evidence presented. It emphasizes that not all research is reliable and unbiased. The manager must ensure that the evidence used is conflict-free and credible. In this study, Texas Health and Human Services is considered a reliable source of information as their strategic plan is comprehensive in scope.

The plan involves possible reductions in Medicaid services and modifications to the services provided. According to Rundall et al. (2007), academic journals now demand authors to discuss the practical consequences of their research, which helps decision makers. This practical application is essential for implementing the scenario in actual situations.

The strategic plan for the Texas Health and Human Commission is in line with the fiscal year 2014 timeframe of the county clinic. Step five of the plan concentrates on making evidence actionable by evaluating revenue, cost implications, user perception, and specific and relevant information. This plan directly affects the Harris county clinic that offers Medicaid services as it outlines initiatives to contain costs related to Medicaid and aids in decision-making.

It is crucial to carefully examine the information in order to prevent future poor decisions. Step six of this process involves evaluating the adequacy of the information and recognizing that each decision involves trade-offs. It is necessary to evaluate decisions, consider options, and assess potential outcomes in different scenarios. By utilizing all available data, a decision can be made regarding the impact of a 15% budget reduction on services provided to

Medicaid recipients in Harris County during fiscal year 2014. Accountability, Knowledge Transfer, and Questioning are important factors for decision makers. They require tools that help them collect and use evidence; however, they understand that no single tool can meet all their needs. The toolbox was created to bridge the gap between research evidence and organizational decision-making (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Considering the concept of coordinating patient care through their primary care provider, the best choice would be the last tool.

The manager uses the sixth tool, adequate information, to determine if the gathered information and research is sufficient. They also consider all options and scenarios. The manager addresses concerns and holds staff accountable. Knowledge transfer through electronic medical records and other communication methods are necessary to avoid excessive spending on duplicate care.

The staff at Harris county clinic and the patient's primary physicians are in constant communication. The manager is actively encouraging staff to ask questions and gather more information before proceeding with diagnostics and treatment. Healthcare management can be challenging, particularly when dealing with budget cuts. However, these limitations also offer managers a chance to think outside the box and discover inventive solutions to address the challenges they encounter.

Accurate and comprehensive information and research are crucial in making effective decisions. In the case study, the toolbox was used to generate a research question, resulting in an evidence-based answer. According to Rundall et al. (2007), research evidence helps inform health management and policy decisions, giving decision makers a better understanding of the consequences of their choices. Once a plan of action is established, it is essential to

execute it optimally (Arnst, 2009, November).

The text provides a variety of sources related to health care costs and strategies. The first source is an article titled "10 Ways to cut health-care costs right now" from Bloomberg BusinessWeek, accessible at http://www.businessweek.com. The second source is Kaiser State Health Facts' webpage on Medicaid and CHIP, available at http://www.statehealthfacts.org. The third source is Texas Health and Human Services' strategic plan for 2013-2017, found at http://www.hhs.state.tx.us/StrategicPlans/SP-2013-2017/SP-13-17.shtml. Additionally, the fourth source is the Texas Health and Human Service Commission's Point in Time Count report on Medicaid enrollment by county in July 2012, located at http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/research/MedicaidEnrollment/PIT/201207.html.

Furthermore, there is an article called "The informed decisions toolbox: Tools for knowledge transfer performance improvement," written by Rundell et al., published in the Journal of Healthcare Management (September-October 2007, Volume 52, Issue 5). This article can be accessed through the Gale PowerSearch database.

Lastly, there is a document named "Informed Decisions Toolbox: Finding and Using Management Research Evidence" from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It was published in May 2008 and can be found at http://www.ahrq.gov/research/decisiontoolbx.html