MHA/626 MHA626 MHA 626 Week 1 - Discussion 1

MHA 626 Week 1 - Discussion 1

Week 1 - Discussion 1

The business plan of a healthcare organization describes the purpose of the HCO and lends structure to its organizational goals. The strategic plan is used as a directional guide; in other words, how the organization will fulfill its purpose and put ideas into action. The strategic plan also prioritizes the organization’s resources as a means to fulfill the business plan. Simply put, the business plan is the “what,” and the strategic plan is the “how.” 

To prepare for this assignment, read Chapters 1 and 2 in the course text as well as the required article by Varkey and Bennett (2010). You may also want to review the recommended article by Williams (2008). For your initial post, answer the following questions in the discussion forum:

• What is the difference between a healthcare organization’s business and strategic plan? Be sure to include the purpose of each plan and how they relate to one another.
• Why is it important for a healthcare organization to develop a strategic plan?

Support your initial post with in-text citations and references for at least two scholarly sources. 

Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful interactive discourse in this discussion. Please provide a detailed explanation as to why you agree or disagree with your fellow students’ posts. Are there other differences that they did not address? Did they fully describe why a strategic plan is important to a HCO? You must use a minimum of one scholarly source to support each peer response. Continue to monitor the discussion forum until 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) on Day 7 of the week and respond to anyone who replies to your initial post.