eflection Question:
Based on your experiences, reflect together on the following question:
- A focus of our work this week will be on the shifts from inpatient care to care provided in outpatient centers, doctor’s offices, clinics, or even in one’s own home. There has been much conversation in the media extolling outpatient services – ambulatory surgery, walk-in clinic visits, get your shots here, no wait, etc. What are your initial thoughts about this trend? You may want to share a recent experience in a healthcare setting, personal or professional, and how this experience contributes to how you think about this trend.
In this week’s readings, we examine outpatient and primary care services, community hospitals, and critical issues that will continue to shape inpatient services.
Application Question:
Now applying what you’ve learned from the readings, let’s go through the rest of the discussions together, one question at a time. Ensure you cite other’s work when appropriate.
- We learned that inpatient stays are declining while outpatient care is steadily increasing. We are seeing this same trend with long-term care. Seniors are increasingly staying in their homes and communities longer. Why do you think this is? What are some of the key influences that have impacted this shift? Avoid creating a list. Rather, pick a couple and talk about these thoughtfully using your assigned materials and any outside credible sources you wish to bring in to support your statements. You might talk about socioeconomic or political influences. You might also consider how healthcare professionals have influenced this trend. Whatever you decide, talk about the “why.”
In a separate post, let’s talk about mergers and acquisitions.
- We are living in an era in which hospitals and health systems (inclusive of both outpatient and inpatient services and often long-term care services as well) are increasingly acquiring each other or merging. The modern healthcare organizations that result from these mergers and acquisitions must effectively meet the wants and needs of a wide range of stakeholder groups. Consider the trend toward mergers and acquisitions that is having such a major impact in healthcare. Consider the stakeholder groups that are being impacted by mergers and acquisitions. Choose one stakeholder group of interest as your focus. Share with your classmates how this specific stakeholder group is impacted, benefited, or potentially harmed by a merger or acquisition.