Palliative Care Program Business Plan
Executive Summary
The needs analysis indicated a huge gap in the provision of palliative care at the health care center. Palliative care is critical because of the management of the symptoms of life threatening conditions, including extreme pain. The care process enables the patient to have a longer and heather life regardless of the condition. The business plan is important to outline the expected benefits of the proposed palliative care unit at the hospital. It is the outline of the prospects of the program, identifying potential risks as well as benefits. The plan includes analysis the financial basis for the program including the budget that will be spent on its implementation and the expected revenue that it will generate. The plan is a report of the findings from the needs analysis. The business plan is based on then implementation of a palliative care program based on managed care. It is a business from which the health care center will financially benefit. Patients, their families, or insurance companies will pay for services.
The health care center will benefit from the income generated from the patients receiving care and their families. The health care facility will also benefit from the revenue generated from the services to patients. The palliative care program is a business model which will take investment from the hospital for returns in form of revenue and profits. Patients with life threatening conditions such as cancer are targeted for the services because they suffer the most and will benefit from the program. Payments will be made by individual patients, their families, or through insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid. The hospital expects to recover the capital invested within the first year of services.
Project Proposal
Evidence from the needs analysis reveals the importance of a well-resourced palliative care unit. The unit will require considerable support of the family of the patients for better outcome. The business plan is critical to sell the program to the administrators of the health care center. From the needs analysis, it is identified that while family members play an important role in meeting the needs for care of the critically and chronically sick, they are not as effective as an institution created for the exact purpose. At the same time, a majority of the aged are at a critical stage of their life when they require close supervision and health care relating to end of life treatment (Perry & Ziemba, 2014). Families will benefit from committing their relatives to palliative care when they are sick and cannot take care of their own needs.
The proposed program is establishment of a palliative care unit which will use the support of the family to meet the needs of the sick persons. The program is informed by the fact that the needs of these individuals become more complex as they age and become sick. As a result, it is critical to provide them with specialized care and support. The proposed facility will be created within the health care center, but will require specialized resources to meet the special needs of the patients. The hospital has facilities for taking care of those requiring end of life care, but not a specialized palliative care unit (Cloyes, Rosenkranz, Berry, Supiano, Routt, Shannon-Dorcy & Llanque, 2016). Therefore, the program will see implementation of the unit to improve palliative care at the hospital. It will be implemented as part of the health care building, reducing the need for vast resources such as buildings.
Product Definition
Clinicians are increasingly experiencing end-of-life care needs as more people age and become sick. The product being proposed is a palliative care program, which will be implemented as part of the health care services at the health care center. The product is the most effective way of managing the care of the sick in such a way that they achieve positive outcomes. Launching the new program is a good business idea for the organization, especially considering the need for better care for patients whom their family members might not be able to provide care. The product is based on the managed care model, which is a business for the organization (Cassel, Kerr, Kalman & Smith, 2015). The effectiveness of the project is founded on proper business practices as well as quality management. It is founded on the importance of meeting the needs of the patients and providing customized care.
The palliative care program has revealed cost effectiveness benefits for businesses effectively implementing them, which is the reason enough for the business to design, develop, and implement the program. The product will require a great deal of financial investment, which is the reason for the proper needs assessment establish its returns on investment. The palliative care program will be founded on a health care model which will be paid for by the patients, their families, or health care insurance program. Patients will be committed to the program for a particular amount of compensation based on individuals’ care needs (Cassel, Kerr, Kalman & Smith, 2015). Therefore, the health care facility will benefit from the finances paid for services. Clearly, this is a business model that is being proposed for the health care facility. Families and patients will be willing to pay for the services to relieve the burden of caring for the sick.
Market Analysis
The proposed program is aimed at providing palliative care. According to the World Health Organization, “Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessments and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual (WHO, 2016)”. Millions of people are diagnosed with critical and life-threatening illnesses every year. More than 50% of these people will be admitted to hospitals for treatment. At home, it is not effective to manage the symptoms of the disease. Therefore, some will require long time care for the illness and related symptoms.
The main market for the proposed program is hundreds of people suffering from critical and chronic illnesses around Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. The individuals will be targeted for long term care because of the complications related to the conditions. Notably, the program is designed with the needs of these individuals in mind. The program will have specialized resources to meet the specific needs of the individuals. It will be suitable for the management of diverse symptoms depending on the kind of condition the individual is suffering from. By including palliative care to the management of the illnesses, these individuals will have improved health outcomes (Cassel, Kerr, Kalman & Smith, 2015). They have a chance to live a longer healthier life.
Rough Financial Plan
Two viable options are available in the implementation of the palliative care program. The current team providing care for the chronically and critically ill patients can be maintained. The team consists of a physician and a nurse. The second option is informed by the reality that the demand for services will increase with the change, which might require addition of another nurse practitioner to work with the current team. In the event that the team was not changed, the cost of implementing the unit will remain the same in relation to human resources. However, this means that the health care center will not have any growth in revenue (Cassel, Kerr, Kalman & Smith, 2015).If there is additional nurse practitioner in the team, the hospital will incur an additional cost. The additional cost will be in the form of compensation and training. However, there will be long term benefits of such a decision because the program will have quality services and will cater for more patients. An increase in the number of patients means that there will be additional revenue for the business. There will be no additional cost in terms of building and equipment because the health care facility already has the resources.
Detailed Operations Plan
The health care facility is in immediate need for the new palliative care unit as the number of patients increase. The needs analysis indicated that families are not well equipped to cater for these needs, meaning that there will be need for the new unit immediately. The program will be implemented within the next three months. However, it will take four months to acquire and train a new nurse practitioner to provide services in the palliative care unit. The four months include the time for recruiting, hiring and training the new nurse as well as orientation time to the hospital. It will also include the time it will take to implement the major change in the hospital (Lopes, Almeida & Lobo, 2015). The training will take place within the hospital, cutting down on the cost and ensuring that the new nurse is well conversant with the setting. The nurse practitioner will be working with the palliative care team to provide care to the patients. Therefore, it is necessary to train the nurse in the hospital to familiarize with the rest of the staff.
Detailed Financial Plan
The revenue from the palliative care unit will be generated from the patients being served. The payment will be made by the individual patients, their families, or insurance plans where applicable. Other sources of payment programs will be Medicare and Medicaid for the qualified patients. The revenue will be from all services provided to the patients, along with drugs and other medical care programs. These programs are specialized to the needs of the patients, which mean that the payments will differ from one patient to another. It is expected that the facility will break even by the end of the first year of operation (Cassel, Kerr, Kalman & Smith, 2015). The startup capital will be obtained from the hospital kitty. Therefore, it will be necessary for the revenue to pay back the capital investment and begin making profits. The project is anticipated to make considerable profits for the hospital because of the target market. There is an increase in the number of patients in the need for palliative care. Therefore, the services provided to the patients will generate adequate revenue and profit.
