With technological advancements, the healthcare sector is experiencing drastic changes. It is perhaps the most dynamic sector following these technological changes and advancements. Technological advances are changing how healthcare services are delivered, from wearable device devices that provide earlier diagnoses and recommend personalized treatments to telehealth technologies that virtually connect patients and healthcare providers. Technology also supports how healthcare personnel gather and analyze information to provide better and improved care. This dynamism translates to the need for healthcare organizations to constantly invest in resources and facilities if they are to attain patient safety and better healthcare services (Akinleye et al., 2019). Effective financial management forms a crucial aspect of healthcare management towards achieving economic security. With this, nurse leaders are responsible for ensuring efficient financial decision-making to ensure uninterrupted healthcare service delivery to individuals and communities. According to Bergmann et al. (2020), operational budgeting involves evaluating, planning, and controlling a short-term organization’s goals. The development of an effective operating budget thus comes in handy with the attainment of efficacy in cost control. The preparation of an effective operating budget is always accompanied by strategic planning, which ensures the operating budget aligns with the organization’s goals and the realities of the market conditions. Strategic planning is then followed by budget negotiations and communication, which includes justifying the projected operating budget, thus promoting accountability.
Strategic Plan
A strategic plan involves details of the unit’s priorities aimed at improving the quality of care while adhering to the organization’s set financial status. In this case, the nursing leader in charge of a 35-bed unit with 20 FTE engages in financial planning with the main aim of catering for the increasing cost of staffing, and high cost of healthcare technology, owing to the increased specialized care among older patients. The nurse manager looks into addressing crucial matters that raise the cost of healthcare without compromising the quality of health provided to the patients. As much as there is a need to adopt an evidence-based technological practice, there is also a need to stay within the limits of the healthcare organization’s budget to balance quality care for the patients and profitability in the unit. Apart from providing quality patient care, the unit also anticipates financial efficiency and longevity to manage its operations over the years. Also, the projected budget should align with the organization’s mission and goals.
Equipment and Service Costs
The hospital unit in question mainly deals with older patients. This means that the budget should be aimed at meeting the increasing cost of high staffing cost of healthcare technology, owing to the increased specialized care among older patients. The plan is to meet and promote staff productivity goals while staying within the budget’s parameters. Ageing comes with increased risks of diseases, including chronic diseases, and healthcare facilities have the crucial role of meeting the holistic and special needs of older patients. According to Fulmer et al. (2021), most healthcare facilities and hospitals are unprepared for the complexity of caring for a heterogeneous population of older persons. This is in line with the developing special needs and care among older patients, calling for more advanced and specialized services and care equipment. With this, the budget needs to focus on the necessary services by investing in the appropriate personnel and equipment by investing on the necessary equipment. The budget thus captures total staff expenses of $1,900, 000; including $1, 500, 000 for staff productive time and $400, 000 for staff non-productive time. The budget aims at having the right nursing mix in the unit to ensure effective care. The necessary nursing skill mix is cost-effective and effective in promoting patient safety (Griffiths et al., 2018). The budget also covers non-staff expenses of $1, 100, 000; including $450, 000 for medical supplies and equipment, $300, 000 for utilities and facilities, and $350, 000 for pharmaceuticals.
Missing information and gaps pertains to the inability to tell what the costs of machines, technology, or maintenance will be the following year. The used data are estimates from informed knowledge after consulting with the engineering and maintenance department to get a more reliable estimate.
Budget Alignment with the Organization’s Goals and Mission
The unit’s budget plan is in line with the organization’s goals and mission of providing quality care services to patients while at the same time promoting employee satisfaction and wellness. The unit has 35 beds and 20 full-time equivalent staff. It has been noted that several persons have left the unit and thus need to fill the open positions. The unit also mainly serves older patients; therefore, the budget has to capture the special needs of older patients; the budget has thus to focus on enhancing care and meeting the needs of this patient category. According to Briggs et al. (2018), older patients require specialized care involving multi-disciplinary teams, comprehensive assessment and case management. By investing in healthcare personnel, patients can receive better and more advanced care, thus promoting patient outcomes and satisfaction. On top of this, having the necessary equipment, nurses will be able to provide the required care services effectively. This will, in turn, promote patient care. Thus, the unit’s budget for staff expenses and non-staff expenses aligns with the organization’s goals and mission of providing adequate care and promoting patient safety and outcomes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, preparing an effective operating budget is always accompanied by strategic planning, which ensures the operating budget aligns with the organization’s goals and the realities of the market conditions. The strategic plan involves details of the unit’s priorities aimed at improving the quality of care while adhering to the organization’s set financial status. The strategic plan ensures the budget’s projected services and equipment costs align with the organization’s needs. This is particularly the older patients’ unique needs since the organization mainly deals with older patients and the requirements of healthcare personnel as they provide care. Also, it ensures the projected unit’s budget aligns with the organization’s mission and goals.
References
Akinleye, D. D., McNutt, L. A., Lazariu, V., & McLaughlin, C. C. (2019). Correlation between hospital finances and quality and safety of patient care. PLoS One, 14(8), e0219124. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219124
Bergmann, M., Brück, C., Knauer, T., & Schwering, A. (2020). Digitization of the budgeting process: Determinants of the use of business analytics and its effect on satisfaction with the budgeting process. Journal of Management Control, 31(1-2), 25-54. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00187-019-00291-y
Briggs, A. M., Valentijn, P. P., Thiyagarajan, J. A., & de Carvalho, I. A. (2018). Elements of integrated care approaches for older people: A review of reviews. BMJ open, 8(4), e021194. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/4/e021194
Fulmer, T., Reuben, D. B., Auerbach, J., Fick, D. M., Galambos, C., & Johnson, K. S. (2021). Actualizing Better Health And Health Care For Older Adults: Commentary describes six vital directions to improve the care and quality of life for all older Americans. Health Affairs, 40(2), 219-225. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01470
Griffiths, P., Ball, J., Bloor, K., Böhning, D., Briggs, J., Dall’Ora, C., … & Smith, G. (2018). Nurse staffing levels missed vital signs and mortality in hospitals: Retrospective longitudinal observational study. Health Services and Delivery Research, 6(38). https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f5d91ef7-7e92-47cd-94c0-6b4d6505c974
write