Ch.

6 Hannah

Healthcare organizations as systems

Interdependent collection of components related to one

another combined their relative strengths to respond to
internal and external needs

Parts relatedeach part of healthcare system

dependent/ interdependent reacts/ influences

The be literate in healthcare literate must: patient

empowerment agency correlated with health literacy

Characteristics of systems

Systems Theory-- systems have certain characteristics

that can influence the communication behaviors of
individuals within them

Homeostasis-- the ability of a system to self regulate,

achieve balance when faced with changing
circumstances (internal and external changes)

i) A normally busy medical clinic that finds itself

with fewer patients than average for several
months must advertise its services or make other
arrangements to attract a suitable number of
patients for the business to function

Example: HAIhealthcare associated infections

Systems exhibit equifinalitymany different ways by

which an organization/ system can achieve a desired
result
 Equifinalitymany different ways by which system may
reach the same end state

Types of healthcare organizations

Financing

i) Medicare and Medicaid (for people with no insurance/

income)

(1) Provides access to health services manage costs,

pay providers for services

Delivery of healthcare

i) Public (Public health departments)

(1) Department of Health and Human Services

(2) Center for Disease Control

(3) National Cancer Institute

State and Local Public Health organizations

i) Immunizations

ii) HIV screening

iii) Prenatal Care

iv) Counseling

PrivateLevels

i) Hospitals

ii) Hospice
 iii) MedicalGroups

iv) DoctorsOffices

v) NursingHomes

ProfessionalOrganizationsthatimpactHealthcareOrgs.

i) AccreditationBodies

JointcommissiononAccreditationofHealthcareorganization

TradeandProfessionalOrganization

AMA,ANA

PharmaceuticalOrganizations

BiotechnologicalOrganizations

1) Goal:GenerateProfitforinvestors

i) SaletoDoctororConsumer

Organization information theoryuseful framework to

assess the various ways in which healthcare
organizations use information to function on a daily
basis and to meet organizational goals

Healthcare organizational culture

Beliefs assumptions, attitudes, and values a group of

individuals share about the world or how things should
work
 Occupation: preferred ways of interpreting reoccurring
experiences

Individuals within organizations create meaning for

everyday events

j) Create meaning for behaviors, what should (should

not) happen

k) Organization culture created/ shared through

interactions

Cyclesorganizationsengageincommunicationpatterns,including
anaction,aresponse,andanadjustment

Doubleinteractloopswhenadditionalcyclesoverlap,Ex)whena
nursesayswehadthesameproblemduringfluseasonlastyearand
thesenursesalertotherphysicians.

DownwardCommunicationuppermanagersandadministrators
identifyissuesandmessagesarethencommunicatedtothelower
levelsofhierarchy

UpwardCommunicationwhenlowerlevelpeople,suchas
maintenancepersonal,encounterinformationthatisusefulforpeople
athigherlevels

HorizontalCommunicationmessagescommunicatedamong
individualswhoshareasimilarstatuswithintheorganization,Ex)
informationexchangedamongnurses

Main influences of Health Insurance and Accountability

Centers

i) CancertreatmentCenterofAmerica

ii) Examinepromotionalmaterial/slogan

Legislation
 i) 1996HealthInsurance

PortabilityandAccountabilityActs(HIPPA)

PatientPrivacyrequireshealthcareorgstoprotectverbal,
written,andelectronic,patientdata

iii) Highestcostsfororg.

iv) BenefitsforPatients

GovernmentPrograms

i) Medicaid/Medicare(1965)Healthcaresafetynet

What is Medicare? Medicaid?

Medicaidforcitizenswhocantobtainhealthinsurancebecauseof:

Income

Employment

Disability

Medicareindividualsovertheageof65

Covers2/3ofcharge

Provider Stress and Conflict

Burnoutsyndromeofemotionalexhaustion,depersonalization,and
reducedpersonalaccomplish

Ch. 7 (Hannah/Savannah)
Credibility of online health information
 Brings question of who is posting about Healthcare;
whether it provides inaccurate information to users
Health related blogs, online support groups and wikis
Asynchronous(delayedresponse),time/space,patienttopatient
Health literacy challenges
Manychallenegesaccessingtheinformationprovidedonlineforolder
adults,lowersocioeconomicclasses,lowerliteracylevels
Creatingnewprogramstoreachtheseclassesandhelpimprove
literacy
Advantages and Disadvantages of CMC support groups
Advantages: Provide new means of communication
about health issues (social support groups, 24 hour
care), give patients an easier way of
communication for a difficult topic, can help minize
concerns about health issues, give them an outlet for
discusses illness rather than not speaking about it at
all
Social information processing theoryasserts that in
computer mediated communication message senders
portray themselves in a socially favorable manner to
draw attention of message receivers and foster
anticipation of future interaction
Disadvantages: Fewer cues, delayed responses,
feedback loop, edit ability, hyperpersonal
perspective, and time to respond, decrease
appearance cues, relationships form around topic,
lack of immediacy, dissatisfaction with the inability to
touch others, frustration of unwanted messages
Advantages/Disadvantages of New Communication
Technologies
Advantages:cheaper,moreefficient,moreconvenient,transcend
graphicalboundaries,currentinformation,moreaccesstogovernment
healthinstitutes
i) emailandwirelesscommunication,satellitetechnology,wireless
communicationdevices,electronicmedicalrecords
Disadvantages:problemswithaccessingandinterpretinginformation
aboutpatientswheninformationissharedbetweenorganizations,
duringmedicalreviewseyecontactiscompromisedandpatient
doesntfeelimportant,damagingfinancially