Health Education and Disease Prevention

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Introduction

A strategic plan is important in any organization or unit in a business because it allows the planning and formulation of objectives. Factors such as the path of an organization and the success that it experiences are related to how well the stakeholders make their organizational strategic plan.

This paper presents an organizational strategic plan for a unit in an organization for Health Education and Disease Prevention (HEDP). This unit is part of a community health organization where medical physicians and other health workers can refer their patients for counseling psychology and health coaching.

Planning is done because it enables benchmarking, evaluation of systems and processes, and analysis of the possible future interventions for the unit. The process involves all major players in the department, including employees, the management, and the referring physicians who also serve as the clients.

Data is collected from the unit’s records and referencing system where the information on past performance is attained. However, this process requires the approval of the unit management and the organizational administration. Therefore, the paper provides the organized strategic plan for the Health Education and Disease Prevention.

Unit Vision Statement

The vision of this department is to be the preferred health education and disease prevention program for the region, to ensure efficient service delivery, and to promote the best standards of care for patients who are referred to the facility.

Unit Mission Statement

The mission of the Health Education and Disease Prevention (HEDP) unit is to ensure improved disease prevention through health education for the general population through the provision of counseling psychology and health coaching.

Core Values

The Unit’s core values are:

Improved efficiency in service delivery and satisfaction of every shareholder
To provide the best and most reliable counseling psychology and health coaching for the benefit of patients
To ensure patients’ rights and vales are respected in the course of their interaction with the unit and the organization as a whole
To accelerate and ensure timely recovery of patients and rerun to their pre-illness productivity
To ensure continued service to the organization in accordance with its core values and those of the nation at large

Overview of the Unit

The Health Education and Disease Prevention (HEDP) unit is part of a larger health organization that offers preventive and curative services to the general population.

The department augments the functions of the superior health organization and the health system by providing counseling and health caching for patients from specialized employees. Medical physicians and other health professionals from the advanced organization and other organizations often refer their patients to this department to seek counseling psychology and health coaching.

History

The cost of treating diseases is high in the general population, despite the existence of simple measures that have been proven excellent in terms of preventing most of the health conditions. Researchers and other health professionals describe a reduced disease burden with the initiation of preventive measures that curtail the spread of disease.

The recognition of prevention as a special aspect of disease prevention has led to the development of disease prevention departments in most health institutions. Health practitioners have specialized in the same task. This department is the product of measures that are aimed at ensuring improved disease surveillance and prevention among the institution’s patients.

Status

Currently, HEDP offers services to a substantial part of the population. It serves as the last contact between patients and the health institution. The unit serves over half of the patients who visit the health facility. It provides a variety of services such as psychological counseling and general follow-up.

The unit has grown to be a key pillar for the health organization. It is also a major referral center for other health organizations. Over a hundred patients who have a variety of needs and diseases are seen in the unit daily.

Important Metrics

Several important metrics define HEDP as part of the general organization, including the number of patient visits, number of procedures, and the billing data. The unit has recorded an increase in the number of patients who are seen over time, with the current number that is served in a day being 124 patients.

This figure is an improvement from the previous year’s daily average of 96 patients. The monthly patient visits are 396 for the current year up to August. The figure is significantly high compared to the previous year’s average monthly visits of 304 patients.

This unit has risen from financial dependence where it relied on the general organization for funding. Currently, it is one of the most financially efficient businesses.

In the recent financial year, the unit has posted profitability of 11%, which is an improvement from the previous year’s value of 6%. This figure has been rising. Patient turnover has also risen over the past few years. The available data shows a turnover of 124 patients per day.

SWOT Analysis

Like most other organizations or units within an organization, HEDP has strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Aljutaili et al., 2014). These factors contribute directly and indirectly to the performance of the unit. They influence its contribution to the health organization in general.

Strengths

HEDP has several strengths that are important in its performance and output. This unit has been in operation for a number of years, with the gathered experience being important in the management of special conditions that crop up in the unit.

The organization also has the strength of a strong financial background, which is important in the prevention and tracking of any health condition (Harder et al., 2014). According to Warren (2012), funding is a critical part of any health program.

Weaknesses

Despite the above strengths, HEDP has several weaknesses that hinder its operations and future efficiency. One of the weaknesses is that the unit is funded by the larger health organization. Hence, it is dependent on the general performance of the organization. The unit is also understaffed.

Few consultants and specialists are available for the provision of some services. The shortage of this crucial workforce hinders the provision of these services as expected. The availability of labor is one of the most important factors in the provision of healthcare services (Divajeva et al., 2014).

Opportunities

HEDP has several opportunities that it can utilize to improve service delivery and efficiency. One of these opportunities is the availability of improved service delivery and better understanding of some of the conditions that the unit handles (Nasseh, Greenberg, Vujicic, & Glick, 2014).

The advancements in medical records, disease surveillance, and therapies are some of the added factors in the unit. Most of the diseases that could not be prevented initially are currently manageable (Nasseh et al., 2014). There is also a growing interest in preventing medicine, with more specialists graduating with these qualifications.

Threats

The main threat that HEDP faces is the development of chronic health conditions that have ineffective preventive measures. The advent of globalization has also increased the spread of diseases. This situation is also associated with rapid spread of diseases even in areas where they have been eradicated (Manca et al., 2014; Letona, Ramirez-Zea, Caballero, & Gittelsohn, 2014).

The other threat in this unit of the health organization is evident in the development of subspecialties that take up the roles of the department. The organization has formed other departments whose roles duplicate those of HEDP (Lowth, 2012).

The unit also faces the threat of reduced effectiveness in disease prevention and counseling due to the high number of patients and clients who visit it compared to the number of employees. However, this threat can be overcome through the employment of more qualified individuals into the unit (Wolf, Clement, Barkema, & Orsel, 2014).

Critical Future Issues

The unit faces critical issues that are important to manage for future unit performance. One of these issues is the development of new methods of disease surveillance and prevention. The unit is dependent on these measures of efficiency. Technology is currently an important part of any health system around the world (Willis, Riley, Herbert, & Best, 2013).

HEDP is in the process of increasing its use of technology to ensure increased effectiveness and efficiency just like other units that apply the same plan in the organization. The other important issue for the unit in this organization is the development of new conditions that are problematic in management, counseling, and prevention.

Goals and Objectives

The goals and objectives of the unit aim at improving the rendered services and the effectiveness of the disease prevention measures across the area that is served by the organization. The goals include:

To increase patient turnover to 250 per day by September 2015
To increase the number of employees and specialists by 50% by September 2015
To increase profitability to 25% by 2016 January and ensure financial independence
To reduce the fatalities from the common health conditions seen at the unit by 50% before 2018

Plans, Strategies, and Timelines

The above objectives will only be achieved through the development of strategies and plans to see them through. The plans correspond to the above objectives. They include:

Patient turnover will be amplified through increased awareness of the services that are provided in the init, both in the organization and the public. This plan can be achieved through aggressive marketing for several months
To increase specialists and employees, the unit should undertake special training for some of its healthcare providers to ensure that they become consultants. More employees will also be employed by the 2015
Profitability is a function of service delivery and the number of individuals visiting the unit. The improved service delivery and aggressive marketing should lead to profitability
Fatalities can be reduced through the initiation of better management and follow-up of patients

Summary

In summary, the above Health Education and Disease Prevention unit is important in the follow-up of patients and prevention of special disease conditions. This unit has several objectives under which it has been established as discussed in the essay. The strategic plan provides the strategic vision and mission for this unit in the general organizational setting.

Reference List

Aljutaili, M., Becker, C., Witt, S., Holle, R., Leidl, R., Block, M., &… Stollenwer, B. (2014). Should health insurers target prevention of cardiovascular disease?: a cost-effectiveness analysis of an individualized program in Germany based on routine data. BMC Health Services Research, 14(1), 405-424.

Divajeva, D., Marsh, T., Logstrup, S., Kestens, M., Vemer, P., Kriaucioniene, V., &… Webber, L. (2014). Economics of chronic diseases protocol: cost-effectiveness modeling and the future burden of non-communicable disease in Europe. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 18-27.

Harder, T., Takla, A., Rehfuess, E., Sánchez-Vivar, A., Matysiak-Klose, D., Eckmanns, T., &… Wichmann, O. (2014). Evidence-based decision-making in infectious diseases epidemiology, prevention and control: matching research questions to study designs and quality appraisal tools. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 14(1), 1-30.

Letona, P., Ramirez-Zea, M., Caballero, B., & Gittelsohn, J. (2014). Formative research to develop a community-based intervention for chronic disease prevention in Guatemalan school-age children. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 1-18.

Lowth, M. (2012). Plagues, pestilence and pandemics: Deadly diseases and humanity. Practice Nurse, 42(16), 42-46.

Manca, D., Greiver, M., Carroll, C., Salvalaggio, G., Cave, A., Rogers, J., &… Grunfeld, E. (2014). Finding a BETTER way: A qualitative study exploring the prevention practitioner intervention to improve chronic disease prevention and screening in family practice. BMC Family Practice, 15(1), 1-22.

Nasseh, K., Greenberg, B., Vujicic, M., & Glick, M. (2014). The Effect of Chairside Chronic Disease Screenings by Oral Health Professionals on Health Care Costs. American Journal Of Public Health, 104(4), 744-750.

Warren, E. (2012). Secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Practice Nurse, 42(3), 12-16.

Willis, D., Riley, L., Herbert, P., & Best, A. (2013). Networks to Strengthen Health Systems for Chronic Disease Prevention. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(11), e39-e48.

Wolf, R., Clement, F., Barkema, W., & Orsel, K. (2014). Economic evaluation of participation in a voluntary Johne’s disease prevention and control program from a farmer’s perspective–The Alberta Johne’s Disease Initiative. Journal Of Dairy Science, 97(5), 2822-2834.

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