In an industry as complex as health care, organizational and market structures must be carefully considered. To participate in accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other value-based care initiatives, for example, hospitals need to have a coordinated care organization model across ambulatory care, acute care, and other settings. Developing these coordinated relationships may require vertical integration to ensure efficient utilization. Although there are many advantages to this integration of organizational and market structures, there are some disadvantages for both the hospital and the providers. For this Discussion, examine the following scenario and recommend strategies for the organizational integration of the hospital and practice. Scanario: You are the chief financial officer (CFO) of a hospital located in a highly competitive, urban market split with two competing hospitals. The hospital is considering purchasing or affiliating with a large physicians’ practice. Your hospital has 30% market share, but does not currently have any owned/employed physicians. Private insurers and Medicare are aggressively pushing value-based reimbursement under ACO contracts, and the one competing hospital has already acquired a large physicians’ practice.   To prepare for this Discussion: Analyze the provided scenario. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the vertical integration of the hospital and physicians’ practice? What economic factors should be considered? Consider strategies for the organizational integration of the hospital and physicians’ practice. Be sure to address the economic factors you identified. Post a cohesive response to the following: Compare advantages and disadvantages of the vertical integration of the hospital and physicians’ practice, including economic factors that should be considered. Then, recommend strategies for the organizational integration of the hospital and practice. Defend or argue your recommendations using economic principles. Support your response by identifying and explaining key points and/or examples presented in the Learning Resources.  https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/U...

Explore the functions of communication in the strategic and program planning processes for a health care organization. Consider the topics discussed thus far and clearly integrate at least five key concepts related to an effective and efficient strategic plan for organizational communication dissemination. Identify three challenges with organization-wide strategic plan communication dissemination and recommend communication strategies to ameliorate these challenges. Your paper must be three to five double-spaced pages (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources that were published within the last five years. One source must be obtained from the Ashford University Library. All sources must be documented in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Extra pointers on the week 4 essay: Assignment directions: Explore the functions of communication in the strategic and program planning processes for a health care organization. Consider the topics discussed thus far and clearly integrate at least five key concepts related to an effective and efficient strategic plan for organizational communication dissemination. Identify three challenges with organization-wide strategic plan communication dissemination and recommend communication strategies to ameliorate these challenges. Your paper must be three to five double-spaced pages (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Utilize a minimum of two scholarly sources that were published within the last five years. One source must be obtained from the Ashford University Library. All sources must be documented in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Clarification points: Focus of the paper is on maximizing one part of Strategic Plan Implementation – communicating the plan to the stakeholders of the organization (particularly the employees). The 7 functions of communication are based on the Shannon-Weaver model of communication commonly used in all types of healthcare organizations:   Sender - who   Message (verbal, non-verbal, or combination of both) - what   Receiver - who   Perception – how the message is perceived/received   Decoding – what context the message is decoded (understood)   Feedback – tell me what you heard me say?   Environment – organizational context (e.g., distractions, level of communication support, etc.). Any one of the above elements has the potential to limit the effectiveness and efficiency of communication. Moreover, communication barriers are typically classified in two categories:   Environmental – competition for time and attention; noise; medium (e.g., verbal face-to-face, auditory phone, email written, text, etc.); legal requirements/limits (HIPAA); etc.   Personal – bias, education level, primary learning style, beliefs/values, frame of reference/experience, etc. Most importantly, communication always has room for improvement and should be carefully and consistently monitored for two components:   What message is intended?   What message is received? When there is disparity between the two monitoring components, improvement plans are needed. Here is guide to help student organize and write their written assignment