An Organizational Analysis of Heartcare Midwest, S.C.Essay title: An Organizational Analysis of Heartcare Midwest, S.C.HeartCare Midwest is central Illinois’ largest cardiology practice consisting of nineteen physicians and more than two hundred nurses, medical technicians, and administrative staff in more than twelve counties throughout the state. Founded in 1994, HeartCare Midwest is the product of a corporate merger between the well-established practices of Cardiovascular Medicine and Illinois Heart Institute. Having more than two hundred years of experience between them, HeartCare Midwest physicians’ hold medical and advanced cardiology degrees from such impressive universities as Duke, Harvard, Princeton and the University of California at Los Angles.
HeartCare Midwest’s affiliations with major medical centers in the area like Saint Francis, Methodist, Proctor and Pekin make the new cardiology practice strategically positioned for growth in the medical industry. HeartCare employs some of the most highly educated and experienced cardiac nurses in the area, allowing the practice to be licensed and certified for specialized techniques usually only available from medical facilities in large metropolitan areas. This analysis will include an extensive evaluation of HeartCare Midwest’s goals and objectives before and after the merger. In addition, structure and strategy, its organizational system, and HeartCare’s effectiveness after the merger will be examined in detail. Additionally, I will make recommendations on how HeartCare Midwest could improve their organization.
Goal’s and ObjectivesBefore the merger creating HeartCare Midwest, Cardiovascular Medicine, consisting of thirteen physicians, held close affiliations with Saint Francis Medical Center. In its beginnings, the physicians defining Cardiovascular Medicine were once part of a multi-specialty health care organization, owned by Saint Francis Medical Center, consisting of nephrology, internal medicine and cardiology. Maintaining a close relationship with Saint Francis Medical Center, the cardiologists left the medical center-owned group in 1983 to form the area’s first independent cardiovascular specialty group. Cardiovascular Medicine was founded on the belief that advancements in cardiovascular studies would enrich the quality of life and increase life expectancy. To that end, the physicians dedicated their new practice to the collection of crucial cardiovascular data for use by world wide medical studies for the prevention of heart disease sponsored by Duke University.
In 1986, Anthony Brody, a British research cardiologist, joined Proctor Hospital to direct their new Chest Pain Center and Proctor’s new cardiology departments. Soon after, Dr. Brody recruited five other research cardiologists from around the world to join him in his pursuit. Illinois Heart Institute was born one year later. Similar to Cardiovascular Medicine, Illinois Heart Institute’s physicians had a mission to improve the quality of life and abolish heart disease. However, they chose a different path to accomplish the same goals. Instead of research being the main focus, Illinois Heart Institute’s mission was realized through innovative public education programs, physician seminars showing revolutionary medical procedures using nuclear technology, and by taking an active role with charity organizations like the American Red Cross and the United Way.
Understandably, HeartCare Midwest is a complementary mixture of both practices’ visions with some new goals. The physicians maintain a strong dedication toward research, education and medical advancements; however, they have their sites set on new goals driven primarily by future economic outlooks and market demands for better, cost-effective health care. A multi-specialty organization is again what the market demands. Although the new multi-specialty group will be associated with many medical organizations in a five-state radius, no hospital or medical organization will directly own it, making this the only the third multi-specialty group in the state not directly under the control of a leading medical center.
The new multi-specialty group will offer several specialty fields including internal medicine, gastroenterology, surgical, oncology, neurology and cardiology services. The fundamental ideas behind making such a radical change from a single entity practice to a multiple entity practice is simple. Market forces are driving health care prices drastically down and profit from treatments and services alone are no longer adequate for survival. In addition, insurance companies are beginning to dictate where their customers receive health care and also the price a provider is paid for services rendered. Most insurance providers are beginning to look for health care organizations strategically positioned to offer medical
s, which includes the health insurance industry and some private plans, to their patients. This is not a new phenomenon, but it’s happening in a far different way under the auspices of an industry that is uniquely positioned to serve as a critical pillar of our national health care system. All of this is part of an even deeper trend towards changing the American health care system and making it better for all citizens. The new multi-specialty group will offer several specialty fields including internal medicine, gastroenterology, surgical, oncology, neurology and cardiology services. The fundamental ideas behind making such a radical change from a single entity practice to a multiple entity practice is simple. Market forces are driving health care prices drastically down and profit from treatments and services alone are no longer adequate for survival. In addition, insurance companies are beginning to dictate where their customers receive health care and also the price a provider is paid for services rendered. Insured
health care prices have dramatically risen over the last five years. Many in the business have not only moved to lower profits but to increase their fees and incur a much higher standard of living • More than 15 percent of all patients in health care facilities are underinsured, causing their premiums to skyrocket by nearly $5 million annually. Over 90 percent of health care procedures have a physician on the payroll, with less than 10 percent contributing to health care costs in their medical fields of operation. • Even with insurance subsidies, the cost of health care is likely to continue to fall in the future as consumers try to pay more and stay on their feet. In fact, premiums for health care are expected to decline and could be $20-30 billion this year, with a 40 percent drop between this year and 2027. As with all health costs, healthcare costs are likely to increase faster than they have in decades, leading many to start paying more more. So while these medical costs are probably going to be reduced in the long run, there is no silver bullet for the cost to the system of caring for the majority of people. This is particularly true for those who earn no money. For millions of Americans, they have no idea what medical care is. And it doesn’t happen when they ask their doctor to pay more for the same service or just give an extra penny for a service they can no longer afford. If those who decide to make medical decisions for their money want to know more about what to expect and who to call, they may wish to attend a doctor in a doctor’s office or a small office in their home and consult with them directly. This is just one way of getting doctors to do just what they have been trained to do under the brand of professional medical assistance. This same strategy was used in