Arguably, the most difficult step in a strategic planning process is the identification of critical strategic issues to guide the strategy development phase. At its core, strategic planning aims to allocate scarce resources to areas that most positively impact the organization. Therefore, identifying and subsequently prioritizing the issue list is critical to the overall success […]
A uniquely Maine curriculum and reserved and subsidized slots for Maine students are just two of many innovations in place at a partnership between Maine’s largest hospital, Maine Medical Center, and Tufts University School of Medicine. Tufts and Maine Medical Center jointly recruit and select students in the co-governed program that awards a combined diploma […]
We recently received the following question from a registered attendee during our ACHE Cluster session, Strategic Planning from Formulation to Action, in San Antonio: In a hospital or health system, how do you broadly engage physicians in the strategic planning process? Physicians are integral to the strategic planning process, and multiple options exist for engaging […]
As hospitals and health systems race to acquire large physician practices in an offensive or defensive market strategy, hospital administrators and business development teams often view the transaction closing date as the finish line. Prudent health care leaders recognize that to capitalize on the significant practice investment, a comprehensive integration strategy, from pre-due diligence through […]
We recently received the following question from an attendee during our ACHE Cluster session, Strategic Planning from Formulation to Action, in Marco Island: What makes for a successful strategic plan update? Once a strategic plan has been completed, it needs to be updated on a consistent (at least annual) basis. This allows for the plan […]
Future uncertainty of the health care environment is creating unprecedented challenges for health care organizations. To manage risk in uncertain times, scenario planning, which helps organizations adapt more successfully to unexpected future conditions, is an effective tool to incorporate into the strategic planning process. There are two potential approaches to incorporate scenario planning into the […]
A complete strategic plan will always include an external assessment. The external assessment should examine the organization’s historical performance as it relates to its respective marketplace, including analysis of the market’s historical performance as well as anticipated future trends and forecasts. The external assessment has five main components: 1. Review of demographic, economic, and health […]
For organizations to insert creativity, intuition, a future orientation, and new perspectives into its strategic planning process, strategic thinking is required. It is the type of thinking that attempts to determine what an organization should look like in the future. Strategic thinkers ask questions such as: “What are we doing now that we should stop […]
Participation and collaboration are not only ideal in any strategic planning process, they are essential. In previous posts, we’ve discussed the importance of having a variety of stakeholders throughout your organization participate in the strategic planning process to gain buy-in for the final plan. Just as important in knowing who to have participate, is knowing […]
Consider this common position of a strategic planning leader: During the course of the interview process for a strategic plan, a key physician leader notes his discontent with current OR operations, specifically turnaround time; He wants to know how this issue will be improved as a result of the planning process. What is the best […]