Strategic Management in Healthcare

Major Trends in Healthcare Management

Introduction

Health care has experienced strategic, revolutionary and momentous change in last few decades. There are dynamic functions of strategic thinking, planning, conceptualizing and implementing measures in the health care organizations. Health is complex phenomenon. The reliance and excellence of life is only possible through the maintenance of healthy lifestyle. The diligent persuasion and vigilant execution of quality health is mandatory. Health care managers have to face turbulent, critical and threatening challenges in such environment. Health care organizations need to effectively manage and respond to become 'masters of renewal' for strategic management (Shewchuk et. al, 2005). This profession of healthcare management is a challenging task. It requires interpersonal, technical and conceptual skills to carry out functions. The profession of health care includes academic physicians, policymakers, health professionals, researchers and patients for assessing changing trends in the healthcare. Changing trends include economic framework, market forces, lawmaking and policy initiatives. Healthcare system is also the function of changing technology, demography and lifestyle. Therefore, it is necessary to determine these pressing issues and strategic solutions for its sustainability.

Trends and Issues

Demography, politics, government, individuals and social structures of the environment are changing the face of the healthcare. There are various trends affecting the global healthcare system. Three of these emerging trends are discussed that undergoes dramatic changes in the healthcare management.

Demographic and Societal Change

Understanding the demographic trends related to the health care is very important. There are many trends of demography that affect the social patterns of life. Wedlock childbearing and high rates of divorce have changed the shape of family patterns. There is a great disparity in income distribution of poor and rich families (Water & Jimenez, 2005). Ethnic and racial diversity has changed the population trends of the United States. The understanding of these demographic ...