Health Care Assignment: A Case Of Uniting Aged Care
Question
Task:
Students are to write a 1500-word strategic proposal on health care assignment for an executive team of the chosen organisation whereby you are attempting to convince that team of what you believe they should be doing over the next five years in an effort to be more successful.
Answer
Introduction
The value of elderly and disability care services has always held an exceptional value in the overall healthcare industry. However, the incidence of the Corona Virus has impacted the profitability and sustainability of the healthcare industry. In an event that has impacted the profitability of the operations of all the industries, the healthcare sector has developed some key opportunities in the scenario (Westbury et al., 2019). In this report, the key strategic opportunities and scopes for Uniting Aged Care will be analysed. The strategic objectives and the threats of the business will also be covered in the study.
Assessment of Key Strategic Issues
As per the most recent data, roughly 3.9 million people of Australia are aged over 60. It is almost 15% of the overall population of the country. Due to the massive number of old age people, the needs of the elderly care services are increasing in the country. The most essential factor that can impact the operations of the organisation are presented in the following section.
- Absence of Substructure to control COVID-19 patients
Uniting Aged Care mainly handles the elderly and disabled patients in the process of its business. Naturally, various individuals being taken care of in this process can have contamination with or without their knowledge. However, the infrastructure and workforce available to the organisation are not appropriate to take care of COVID-19 patients. It can be argued that it is one of the significant weakness of the organisation in the present context of the market. - Employee Risks
The employees and healthcare staff of Uniting Care are mostly associated with the services and caring of the elderly patients. They are also most viable candidates for the COVID-19 containments. Hence, the employees also have a high percentage of risk for being impacted by COVID virus. - To maintain the community wellbeing and serve the persons who are derived due to physical barriers.
- To promote human rights and subdue injustice in the community.
- Residential Care Services
The requirement of residential care services has increased in the Australian market due to the occurrence of the pandemic situation. The elderly patients are expressing their interests to be treated without visiting the medical facilities (Theou et al., 2018). Uniting Aged Care should utilise the opportunity and initiate residential care services in a robust manner to gain better market penetration abilities. - Dementia Care Program
The requirement of the dementia care program is increasing rapidly in the Australian elderly care industry. Uniting Aged Care can get various benefits if this service can be appropriately introduced in its business (Fine and Davidson, 2018). The company can also get governmental aid by initiating the Dementia Care Program. - Point of Care Testing
The facility of point of care testing will be feasible for the elderly and disabled patients who have no means of accessing conventional healthcare services (Westbury et al., 2018). It can be the proper scope for the organisation to create a loyal consumer segment in the market.
Organisation Background
Uniting Aged Care can be considered as the largest organisations in Australia that provides the services of elderly and disability care (Westbury et al., 2018). With over 213 medical care centres in various regions of Australia, Uniting Care has set up a widespread network of aged care services in the country. The motto of the organisation has always been the establishment of community harmony and mitigation of injustice.
Statement of Vision and Mission
Vision:
To inspire everyone in society for a better and healthier future.
Mission:
Essential Opportunities for the Business
There are specific chances that can be helpful for Uniting Aged Care in the Australian market. The requirement of elderly care services is on the rise in Australian markets.
Figure 1: Rise in the Number of Patients in Aged Care Services in Australia
(Source: Westbury et al., 2019)
The above figure shows the trend of increasing patients in the elderly care services of the country. It can be experienced that the profitability trend of the market is going upwards in the market.
Suitable Business Model for the Subsequent 5 Years
Uniting Aged Care should plan the upcoming stages of the business as per any proper strategic model. It is essential that the model that is selected is aligned to the attributes of the Australian market and economy. It is recommended that the company uses the product leader model to increase its market share and consumer base.
The Product Leader Model
The economic condition and the prediction of the healthcare market in Australia is quite feasible for the upcoming decade. As a result, various organisations are trying to enter the market. As a result, it is necessary for any organisation to have some distinctive abilities in their business.
Figure 2: Phases of Product Leadership Strategy
(Source: Yu and Qian, 2018)
The above figure showcases various phase that can be the essential parts of the business model of Uniting Aged Care in the upcoming period. The application of any particular business model depends on the strategic position of the company in the market that it operates in (Detering et al., 2019). The Australian market is generally quality oriented and the customers prefer quality of the services rather than lower prices. As a result, the product leader model will be feasible for Uniting Aged Care to attain better market penetration.
- Arrangement of special services like Foster Care and senior health hub can enhance the reputation of the organisation in the market.
- There are various scopes related to the childcare service that can be implemented in the Australian market. Vacation care and preschool care services can be profitable for Uniting Aged Care.
Strategic Objectives in relation to Identified Challenges and Opportunities
The enhancement of the business scopes for Uniting Aged Care in the Australian healthcare industry will be determined by the strategic objectives that the organisation will utilise (Theou et al., 2018). The objectives should be planned in a way that it becomes aligned with both the present and upcoming scopes of the business. However, it can be argued that there can be some unprecedented events in the long terms that can always impact the organisation in an adverse manner. These issues can be mitigated as per the requirement of the scenario.
1. To Collect and Analysis Systematic Data
Utilising the analytical tools will be necessary for the business of Uniting Aged Care in the present situations of the market (Yu and Qian, 2018). Fuelled by the global pandemic conditions, the elderly patients are being sceptical about visiting the healthcare facilities. Uniting Aged Care should try to create a robust patient database and utilise the information to target the most feasible patient segments.
2. To Improving Infrastructure and Arrangements
Uniting Aged Care is mainly operating healthcare services with elderly patients and children. Hence, it is natural that the services of the organisation involve various critical issues that require modern infrastructure (Luker et al., 2019). The company will acquire significant market penetration abilities only if it becomes able to improve its equipment and surgical tools.
3. To Manage Employee Satisfaction
The success and reputation of any healthcare business depend mostly upon the employee so that organisation. The customers; i.e., the patients are treated and handled by the healthcare and general staff. Hence, it becomes necessary for the organisation to manage the satisfaction rate of the employees (Picton et al., 2021). The employees of Uniting Aged Care are working amidst the pandemic situation, and the pressure of patients are generally high in this situation. The management of Uniting Aged Care must ensure that all the employees are adequately compensated and handled.
4. To initiate Innovative Abilities
The healthcare services related to the aged and disabled person are on the rise in the Australian market. Uniting Aged Care must create the scope of implementing innovative ideas in the services provided by them (Detering et al., 2019). The economy of Australia does not make it a feasible market for cost leadership strategies. Hence, product leadership and innovation must be targeted by the company in the upcoming period.
5. To increase the quality of service
Uniting Aged Care must utilise various cutting-age tools and strategies to increase the quality of service (Fine and Davidson, 2018). It will be a necessary tool in terms of aged and disability scare services.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the report that United Aged Care will have both difficulties and opportunities in the upcoming period. It will be necessary that the business aligns its strategic operations with the plan of action that has been designed in the study. The development of the services of the company should be based on the innovations and technical abilities. The overall improvement of the experience of the partners should be improved. The enhancements of the competitive nature of the market cannot be subdued directly. However, the betterment of the services and marketing activities of the organisation can improve the position of the brand in the Australian aged care services.
Reference List
Detering, K.M., Buck, K., Ruseckaite, R., Kelly, H., Sellars, M., Sinclair, C., Clayton, J.M. and Nolte, L., (2019). Prevalence and correlates of advance care directives among older Australians accessing health and residential aged care services: multicentre audit study. BMJ open, 9(1), p.e025255. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e025255.abstract
Fine, M. and Davidson, B., (2018). The marketization of care: Global challenges and national responses in Australia. Current Sociology, 66(4), pp.503-516. https://www.academia.edu/download/57311260/Fine__Davidson_2018_-_Marketization_Published_on-line_version.pdf
Luker, J.A., Worley, A., Stanley, M., Uy, J., Watt, A.M. and Hillier, S.L., (2019). The evidence for services to avoid or delay residential aged care admission: a systematic review. BMC geriatrics, 19(1), pp.1-20. https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-019-1210-3
Picton, L., Ilomäki, J., Keen, C.S., Lalic, S., Adams, B., Clinnick, L.M., Kirkpatrick, C.M., Ryan-Atwood, T., Turner, J.P. and Bell, J.S., (2021). Rates of PRN medication administration in Australian residential aged care. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 22(1), pp.117-123. https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(20)30364-9/fulltext
Theou, O., Sluggett, J.K., Bell, J.S., Lalic, S., Cooper, T., Robson, L., Morley, J.E., Rockwood, K. and Visvanathan, R., (2018). Frailty, hospitalization, and mortality in residential aged care. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 73(8), pp.1090-1096. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0233450
Westbury, J., Gee, P., Ling, T., Kitsos, A. and Peterson, G., (2019). More action needed: Psychotropic prescribing in Australian residential aged care. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 53(2), pp.136-147.
Westbury, J.L., Gee, P., Ling, T., Brown, D.T., Franks, K.H., Bindoff, I., Bindoff, A. and Peterson, G.M., (2018). RedUSe: reducing antipsychotic and benzodiazepine prescribing in residential aged care facilities. Medical Journal of Australia, 208(9), pp.398-403. https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/208_09/10.5694mja17.00857.pdf
Yu, P. and Qian, S., (2018). Developing a theoretical model and questionnaire survey instrument to measure the success of electronic health records in residential aged care. PloS one, 13(1), p.e0190749. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190749
