Outsourcing in healthcare facilities Assignment

Outsourcing in healthcare facilities - Assignment Example For effective operation and achieving of the outsourcing objectives, healthcare facilities have to find reliable business associates who will offer cost-effective and quality services that meet patient expectations. Prevalence and trends of outsourcing in the healthcare industry The prevalence of outsourcing in the healthcare industry is low as compared to other industries though it is picking up at a fast 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 being 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 organizations in healthcare which utilize outsourcing to a greater extend. Ho wever, there is a difference in the trends and prevalence rates among the for-profit hospital settings and the not-for-profit hospital settings. More of the profit-oriented 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 utilized in healthcare is medical transcriptions. This is done as a strategy for dealing with the increasing need to document medical records hence it is a more-cost effective way of adding to back offices. Outsourcing in this area is growing at a significant rate of 15% annually. The third most commonly outsourced service in healthcare facilities is linen/laundry services. This is driven by factors like increasing costs of operating a laundry and upgrading efficient laundry equipment. There is also increasing laundr y volumes due to the increasing number 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 (ASP's) (Kirchheimer, 2005. Other services that experience varied levels of outsourcing include management 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 company located in Santa Monica, California. Hospital TeamCare provides physician o utsourcing whereas Precyse Solutions provides HIM outsourcing. Experience of healthcare organizations that have tried 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

The CIA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The CIA - Research Paper Example The agency was established in the year 1947 through an act accented to by the then President. The National Security Act was signed by President Truman. Apart from creating the agency, this act also established the office of the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) who was supposed to be the President’s chief advisor on matters of national security as he was also the head of the United States intelligence community. The DCI was also supposed to head the Central Intelligence Agency. However, in the year 2004, the National Security Act was amended through the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. This amendment created the office of Director of National Intelligence to take up a number of roles previously carried out by the DCI. It also ensured that the Central Intelligence Agency was under a separate Director. Such agencies as the CIA are employed in performing intelligence gathering services and not the US military as these can easily lead to the declaration of wars. During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was created with the purpose of coordinating espionage activities against the Axis Powers. The CIA was thus created as a successor of this office. Basically, the CIA is charged with the responsibility of collecting information about corporations, foreign governments and individuals in addition to advising policymakers. The agency is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. In some quarters, the CIA is referred to as Other Government Agencies (OGA), The Agency, Langley and The Company. In trying to accomplish its mission, the CIA requires the deployment of high leverage technology, carrying out of research and development for purposes of intelligence. To ensure that the intelligence consumer acquires the best possible intelligence, the CIA engages closely with other agencies and organizations within the Intelligence Community and also carries out independent analyses of topics that are of concern2. The agency