Administration and Stakeholders Over the last several years, the number of medical errors that health care facilities have dealing with has been steadily increasing. A good example of this can be seen with a study that was conducted by the Institute of Medicine and National Academies. They found, that the total number of medical errors reported around the country account for 1.5 million cases every year. This added to the total costs of medical expenses by $3.5 billion. ("Medical Errors Injure 1.5 Million People," 2006) Part of the reason why this is taking place, is because many staff members will often feel increasing amounts of pressure and they are exhausted (from working 12 plus hours a day). Evidence of this can be seen with a study that was conducted by the Mayo Clinic. They found that the majority of medical errors were from: residents, nurses, doctors and others staff members being dramatically overworked. As, many are expected to: work at least 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. This can lead to errors in many facilities, as the staff members are not as vigilant about their techniques (during the tail end of these long shifts). Over the course of time, this causes major safety issues at a facility. This is troubling, because it is a sign that a variety of health systems are having challenges adjusting to: their changing patient loads and their operating environment. Once this begins to occur, it can lead to: a of host quality control and safety issues at the facility (which will have an adverse impact upon their operating environment). (Nellis, 2009)

In the case of Memorial Regional Hospital Florida, this can be challenging, as these kinds of errors could lead to a deterioration in the overall quality of care that many patients are receiving. As, the increased work load is a sign that many inefficiencies are: occurring within the facility and that people are not working together. This is problematic, because these kinds of issues could damage the reputation of the hospital. To determine how the Memorial Regional can prevent these possible issues require: examining the different organizational, service delivery and technological factors. Together, these elements will provide the greatest insights as to how the hospital can be able to build upon the foundation of success it has established in the past.

Organizational Factors

In the case of Memorial Regional Hospital Florida, it is obvious that they are affected by the Task Culture structure. This is when management is working in conjunction with the different staff members to achieve the various organizational objectives. There are a number of different principals that this kind of structure will embrace to include: everyone's performance is judged based upon their results and there is an expansive culture (which is focused on creative factors as well as most effectively utilizing the various resources). These different elements are important, because they are showing how the hospital is embracing this basic philosophy.

As a result, the best strategy for recruiting will involve using purposive staffing. This is when you are looking at various individuals that will fit well inside the facility. As, you would want to examine: the specific departments that have staffing issues, the age demographics of the patients / staff members and the overall philosophy that each person embraces surrounding the practice of medicine. These elements are significant, because they will help you to identify potential employees based upon: their beliefs and how they will fit in at the hospital. Once this occurs, it means that you can find those people that will be: most likely to succeed in this environment. (Chrisler, 2009, pp. 181 -- 190)

This will help in the development of the staff, by ensuring that everyone shares the same philosophy as the hospital. Once this occurs, it will allow for the patients to receive the best treatment options. The way that this will help in competency building, is by making certain that everyone can be able to work well together. Where, the different screening procedures will ensure that we are locating those professionals, who will practice a similar approach to medicine and dealing with patients as well as other staff members. This ensures that everyone is always communicating and is watchful of possible mistakes that could occur. Over the course of time, this well help to improve the reputation of the facility and it will allow everyone to receive the highest quality care available.

Service Delivery Factors

Memorial Regional Hospital Florida has always been focused on: providing high quality treatment...

Over the years, this approach has helped the hospital adapt to the different challenges that they have been facing. This is because they are taking into account the various interests of stakeholders to include: the patients, staff members, the administration and members of the board of directors. As far as patients are concerned, the use of innovative technology and the team centered approach has meant that everyone is receiving the best treatment possible. This is important, because this allowed the hospital to address the needs of the community, while adapting to changes that are taking place in the field of medicine.
The different staff members are motivated to go the extra mile for everyone, as they are sharing the same basic philosophy when it comes to collaboration and treatment. In this case, the different staff members will work together to ensure that errors or any kind of oversights are quickly addressed. This is significant, because it helps to prevent the staff from becoming overwhelmed and it reduces the number of errors. Once this occurs, it means that the overall quality of treatment that is being provided increases.

The administration is focused on providing the best services at the lowest costs possible. This has become somewhat challenging, as health care costs have risen dramatically over the last several years. At the same time, the expansion in services has meant that the facility is exposed to changes in the underlying cost structure. This is important, because effectively controlling costs will allow the hospital to continue to deliver numerous choices in treatment option (at affordable prices for the community).

The board of directors is concerned about the long-term economic viability of Memorial Regional Hospital Florida. As, their main focus is to ensure that they are able to: maximize their profit margins, while embracing their core values. This is accomplished by carefully monitoring the costs and determining what kind of programs will help to address the needs of the community in the future. Over the course of time, this focus allows the board to shape what the hospital will become.

There have been changes in way technology is being utilized as part of delivering the best services to consumers. This is because communities are demanding more innovative treatment options. While at the same time, the hospital has been aggressively expanding the number of programs that are being offered. These two factors mean that the use of the latest technology will increase costs dramatically.

A good example of this can be seen with the use of the Da Vinci Robot. This is a device that can perform open heart surgery more accurately than humans. The problem with using this piece of equipment is that it requires: having lots of spare parts available and extensively training the staff. This will cause the costs of using the machine to increase. A recent study from the University of Maryland found that the anytime the device is used. It increases the total costs of an open heart procedure by $8,000.00. (Arnst, 2008) The only way that we can economically justify this, is to pass some of these costs on to the consumer. This is problematic because, it means that there be must be some kind structure in place that is providing the highest quality services. While, utilizing the latest technology in: a cost effective manner. Where, you want to ensure the best services are being provided, whilst maintaining an economically viable cost structure.

Technological Factors

Like what was stated previously, using the latest technology will mean that the underlying costs will increase. However, beyond this issue there are other factors that can have an impact on health care costs to include: research / development and implementing new technology into the facility. Research and development will mean that the hospital must have specific staff members, who are always up-to-date on the latest advances in medicine. The problem is that keep up with these changes, will mean that this person will have to do extensive traveling. As, they will be required to go to: health care conferences and trade shows, to understand what solutions would work well for the facility. This can cause the costs of keep up with the changes in the industry to increase, as this will involve creating a management position in the hospital.

Implementing new technology into the facility will result in increased costs. The reason why, is because it will take time to train the different staff members in…