Outsourcing in healthcare facilities Assignment

Outsourcing in health care facilities - Assignment ExampleFor useful operation and achieving of the outsourcing objectives, health care facilities have to find reliable business associates who will offer cost-effective and musical note improvements that meet patient expectations. Prevalence and trends of outsourcing in the healthcare assiduity The prevalence of outsourcing in the healthcare industry is low as compared to other industries though it is picking up at a nimble rate due to increasing financial pressures and demand for better services by patients. The trends of outsourcing in healthcare are increasing as evidenced by the decreasing restrictions on the types of services be outsourced by healthcare facilities. Many outsourcing relationships now are like long-term strategic partnerships instead of arrangements that are tactical and single-purpose in nature. This indicates increasing interest in outsourcing by healthcare facilities. Hospitals are the main types of organ izations in healthcare which utilize outsourcing to a greater extend. However, there is a difference in the trends and prevalence rates among the for-profit infirmary settings and the not-for-profit hospital settings. More of the profit- orientated hospitals are outsourcing as compared to the non-profit hospitals. Currently, profit-oriented hospital settings outsource up to 25% of their services and their non-profit oriented counterparts are expected to reach this level in the near future (Harris, 2001). One of the areas in which outsourcing is employ in healthcare is medical transcriptions. This is done as a strategy for dealing with the increasing desire to document medical records hence it is a more-cost effective way of adding to back offices. Outsourcing in this area is ripening at a significant rate of 15% annually. The third nigh commonly outsourced service in healthcare facilities is linen/laundry services. This is driven by factors like increasing costs of operating a l aundry and upgrading efficient laundry equipment. There is also increasing laundry volumes due to the increasing fare of patients (Harris, 2001). Ambulance services, gift stores, and security services enjoy a moderate level of outsourcing in the healthcare sector. The most recent service to be outsourced services is IT services. EHRS outsourcing is picking up even as physicians are being encouraged to adopt and use EHRS. The complexity and urgency of implementing and maintaining EHRS is the driving factor behind its outsourcing. The healthcare industry has also begun contracting for software applications. These services are offered by 3rd party application service providers (ASPs) (Kirchheimer, 2005. Other services that experience varied levels of outsourcing include counselling of facilities, feeding of patients, transportation, health information management (HIM) and clinical services. One of the companies offering medical transcription services is Chromolume Transcription, a co mpany located in Santa Monica, California. Hospital TeamCare provides physician outsourcing whereas Precyse Solutions provides HIM outsourcing. Experience of healthcare organizations that have tried and true outsourcing Some of the healthcare organisations that have tried outsourcing include Launceston General Hospital and Westbury Community Health Centre. These hospitals outsource their linen services to Northern Tasmanian Linen Service