Decision Making Process Case Study
To demonstrate some of the tools and resources that can improve decision-making, a case study will be examined and serve as an example for applying these tools to an actual scenario. The scenario for this case study involves a county clinic whose budget has been cut by 15%.
This clinic provides care to Medicaid clients and the challenge to management Is to Identify the clinical services that should be eliminated or Introduced to best address this population. The decision-making tools used to address this challenge as well as the rationale for their use will be addressed in rather detail.
Starting the Decision-making Process With rising healthcare costs and the current state of the economy, it is not surprising that this clinic is forced to reduce their budget. Because the organization has decided to finalize the budget cuts, a number of decisions need to be made on how to achieve this goal and best maintain the level of care It currently provides to their Medical clients. Randall et al.
In an article written In 2007, describe a decision-making process and set of tools that may help this clinic make the most informed and effective choices to determine which services should be changed to meet their budget needs (Randall et al. 2007). The Toolbox Radial et al developed a tool they call the Informed Decisions Toolbox or DID, which they suggest will help make better evidence-informed management decisions. Evidence-informed decision-making is the process of gathering and analyzing the best evidence available and making an Informed decision based on that knowledge (National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools [ENACT], n. D.
). The process f evidence-informed decision-making involves six steps. Each of these six steps can be used as a tool for improving decision-making.
The six steps include defining the question, searching for relevant evidence, appraising the quality of the data, determine the relevancy of the data, analyze action ability, and evaluate the possible outcome of the decision (Health-evidence. Ca, n.
D. ). Choosing a Tool A manager of the case study clinic would find these tools valuable in determining which services to add or remove to meet the budget goal of the organization. These tepees form a process or a checklist of action items for reaching an informed decision.
The tool that would be the most valuable to the clinic manager would be step number two; searching for relevant evidence.
Performing research can be time consuming and difficult, but It Is the heart of any good decision. Using this tool, the manager can Tina evidence AT past successes or Taluses In salary unaltered Gouged cuts. Research could determine the priorities of the Medicaid community and the care that is the most important to them. Collecting data on efficiency statistics may low the manager to keep important services by improving process flows and reducing waste.
Some of the research tools include interviews, academic Journals, data warehouses, and the Internet (Randall et al.
, 2007). The steps following the research collection, which include evaluating the data and taking action are also very important but are only as valuable as the data used for those steps and tools. Management Strategies A manager using any of the tools in the DID should be aware of the impact their decisions have on the organization and community. The use of these tools will enhance the clinics ability to better understand their Medicaid clients and how their decisions will affect the lives of those individuals.
This knowledge helps foster accountability to those groups because the clinic has acknowledged their needs and should act on them appropriately. Part of using the Toolbox is sharing the information gathered from research.
This is an important part of the process because it helps everyone make more informed decisions within the organization as well as external sources. The most important outcome from using the Toolbox is reading an environment of constant learning and improvement.
