Health care issue
Healthcare is one of the biggest global businesses currently. The economies of several nations are supported by huge profits and revenues generated from the healthcare industry. The sector is made up of for-profit and non-profit organizations. The former are often under the support and control of financial investors whose objective is to gain profits from the healthcare services they provided for patients while the latter under the support and control of donors, contributions and bonds. Whether a healthcare is profit-minded or not, good and proper management of funds is a necessity for maintenance and sustenance. However, today, the healthcare industry faces a number of contemporary issues that have prevented the smooth running of operations and day-to-day activities. One of the contemporary healthcare issues that affect the health industry from a business perspective is mismanagement of funds or finances (Glaser, J & Sett, 2012).
There are no differences between how for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations are impacted by mismanagement of funds. Regardless of the type of business, a positive financial contribution is mandatory for the maintenance and sustenance of the smooth running of business operations and activities (Selivanoff, 2011). Therefore, when funds or finances are mismanaged, both for-profit and non-profit organizations will record losses and may eventually be closed down. The only way out is to ensure that both for-profit and non-profit organizations put in place financial management systems that control and manage finances. This is one of the key issues that if not solved can lead to the downfall of the respected healthcare sector.
Financial management staffs in any organization have the most significant responsibilities in helping bring to an end the common practice of mismanagement of funds in healthcare institutions. Accountants, patient accounts managers, coding personnel, the chief financial officer and the controller are the financial staff members of any healthcare organization. They are specially trained and educated to ensure that malpractices related to finance are kept at bay. The chief finance officer plans, secure funds meant for investment purposes, and also monitors how a healthcare organization performs financially. By so doing, the CFO plays a key role in fighting mismanagement of funds. The controller’s role is to supervise financial accounting functions and thus, all other staffs inclusive of accountants have to report to him or her. The controller manages payment of invoices and accounts receivables and hence ensures that no funds are mismanaged in the process (Selivanoff, 2011). The other financial management function that plays an integral role of preventing financial mismanagement is patient accounting. It is responsible for the various coding processes, reimbursement, and patient billing aspects. Since the financial and management departments work closely in healthcare organizations, managers of healthcare organizations also have a role to play in preventing mismanagement of funds. They ensure that there is proper budgeting and they also monitor expenses and productivity of the organizations (Selivanoff, 2011). The overall position in health organizations is that of the board of directors who are also responsible for eradicating financial misappropriation. They role is to approve organizational budgets, define objectives of financial operations and approve expenditures that are very large.
Mismanagement of funds often starts with the stakeholders of an organization. This often includes staff members who have selfish interests and who do not look at the long-term effects of their actions. One rule of financial mismanagement is that it is done with a lot of confidentiality and in privacy. Thus, the financial management functions of healthcare organizations should ensure that all financial transactions within the organization are done in public at the view of every stakeholder (Glaser, J & Sett, 2012).
In conclusion, the contemporary health care issue discussed that affects healthcare organizations from a business perspective is mismanagement or misappropriation of funds. The vice is often carried out by organizational stakeholders and has contributed to the failure of a number of healthcare organizations. Responsibility and accountability are to be enhanced in healthcare organizations if the issue is to be kept at bay.
References
Glaser, J & Sett, A. (2012). Using technology to reveal true costs. Healthcare Financial Management : 44-9.
Selivanoff, P. (2011). The impact of healthcare reform on hospital costing systems. Healthcare Financial Management, 110-4, 116