Ethical and Legal Dilemmas Common in Healthcare Settings
The Objective of the Proposed Alliance
The aim of the proposed strategic alliance of our midsize regional hospital with the regional physical therapy program is the growth and enhancement of patient services within both rehabilitation and physical therapy. The infrastructure of our hospital and the already established patient base, as well as the specialized resources of the physical therapy program, facilitate the opportunity for a more comprehensive and integrated model of care. This partnership will help improve patient outcomes through better access to specialized physical therapy services and additional revenue streams for both organizations (Denicolai & Previtali, 2022; Mendonça et al., 2022).
Ethical and Legal Factors for the Success or Failure of Strategic Alliances
Some key ethical and legal considerations may affect the success or failure of HC strategic alliances. Alliances that successfully work are those that exist in shared values and mission with one another, reach transparent communication and decision-making processes, and equitably share benefits and risks (Nadkarni et al., 2021). Equally core to these factors for the success of the alliances is compliance with the antitrust laws and regulations with strong structures of governance that maintain accountability and adhere strictly to patient privacy and data protection.
On the contrary, the alliances that can come to an end are marked by common conflicts of interest, lack of aligned incentives, and breach of the patient’s confidentiality. Other factors include the lack of enough due diligence, the existence of unforeseen liabilities, the lack of the correct regulatory approvals, services billing unscrupulously, or a cultural mismatch between the two organizations in the strategic healthcare alliance (Panda & Leepsa, 2017).
Plan for Managing Ethical and Legal Responsibilities
In this light, there needs to be an all-around plan that would ensure all associated ethical and legal responsibilities for this strategic alliance are well taken care of. This should include an integrated plan in entirety for due diligence about the legal and financial position, compliance history, and quality metrics of the physical therapy program under consideration. It is important to engage in writing a detailed agreement that lays down roles, responsibilities, governance structure, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
The alliance will institute joint compliance programs with shared protocols on patient privacy, billing practices, and quality assurance. Accordingly, establishing an ethics committee that is convened regularly to address the inevitable dilemmas that may arise and to keep the alliance in congruence with the values of both organizations will be necessary. Finally, periodic audits of alliance operations and training sessions on a continuous basis regarding ethical considerations and legal requirements for all staff involved will keep the alliance in compliance and operating on a high ethical plane (Everson et al., 2020).
Potential Issues in the Strategic Alliance
Such a strategic alliance may raise several issues that must be carefully considered. These will include concerns about patient referral patterns, inappropriate self-referrals, and steering of patients between the hospital and the physical therapy program. Another ongoing challenge is ensuring consistent quality of care in both organizations and reconciling any discrepancies in treatment approaches (Colla et al., 2016). This may further lead to a conflict of interests that will financially and humanly bind partners in the venture. In addition, challenges may be experienced in sharing data and its integration from the different electronic health record systems while ensuring the privacy of the patients is observed. There can be potential conflicts between the organizational cultures and professional practices, which will need continuous handling. Managing expectations and avoiding scope creep of services beyond the agreed scope of the alliance must also be watched out.
Analysis of Alliance Problems by Healthcare Leaders
Healthcare leaders must adopt a disciplined process of analyzing alliance problems by differentiating the root causes from symptoms. It starts with a thorough data collection from financial reports, patient feedback, and staff surveys. Root cause analysis techniques can be done with “5 Whys” or fishbone diagrams that are useful in recognizing alliance problems at the root level rather than at the symptom level.
Also, the involvement of key stakeholders from both organizations may provide divergent insight into the problems. Benchmarking the alliance’s performance against industry standards and comparable partnerships can further highlight areas of needed improvement. Leaders could also adopt systems thinking, studying how disparate parts of the alliance relate and affect each other, rather than simply viewing problems as if they existed in a vacuum (Denicolai & Previtali, 2022; Mendonça et al., 2022).
Moreover, keeping ethical and legal considerations at the forefront of the entire problem-solving process helps healthcare leaders successfully face such challenges of strategic alliances. This approach will help work toward sustainable and mutually beneficial partners that deliver improved quality care and outcomes while minimizing legal and ethical risks.
References
Colla, C., Bynum, J., Austin, A., & Skinner, J. S. (2016, November). Hospital competition, quality, and expenditures in the U.S. Medicare population. NBER Working Paper No. w22826. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2868925
Denicolai, S., & Previtali, P. (2022). Innovation strategy and digital transformation execution in healthcare: The role of the general manager. Technovation, 102555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2022.102555
Everson, J., Adler-Milstein, J., Ryan, A. M., & Hollingsworth, J. M. (2020). Hospitals strengthened relationships with close partners after joining accountable care organizations. Medical Care Research and Review, 107755871881833. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558718818336
Mendonça, S., Damásio, B., Santiago, F., Chen, M., Santos, A. B., Cunha, M. P. e, & Nicita, A. (2022). Strategic encounters in innovation and regulation: Healthcare transformation in the era of digital connectivity comment on “What managers find important for implementation of innovations in the healthcare sector – Practice through six management perspectives.” International Journal of Health Policy and Management. https://doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2022.7271
Nadkarni, A., Levy-Carrick, N. C., Kroll, D. S., Gitlin, D., & Silbersweig, D. (2021). Communication and transparency as a means to strengthening workplace culture during COVID-19. NAM Perspectives, 2021. NCBI. https://doi.org/10.31478/202103a
Panda, B., & Leepsa, N. M. (2017). Agency theory: Review of theory and evidence on problems and perspectives. Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, 10(1), 74–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0974686217701467
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Question 
This Individual Project (IP) builds upon your work in Units 1, 2, and 3.
Ethical and Legal Dilemmas Common in Healthcare Settings
Your fourth area of focus as director of operations is on the stages of ethical and legal dilemmas in strategic alliances in healthcare systems and identifying some of the issues that may arise from strategic alliances. The senior executive team has expressed an interest in forming a strategic alliance with a regional physical therapy program to expand patient services in this area.
Your Ethical and Legal Dilemmas in Strategic Alliances for Healthcare Systems report will cover the following bullet points:
- Explain what you feel is the objective of this proposed alliance.
- Outline the ethical and legal reasons behind why a strategic alliance may succeed or fail.
- Provide a plan for managing the ethical and legal responsibilities.
- What types of issues may come up with the strategic alliance?
- Discuss how healthcare leaders analyze alliance problems, including distinguishing between root causes and symptoms.
Deliverable Requirements: Your Ethical and Legal Dilemmas in Strategic Alliances for Healthcare Systems analysis must be at least 5 pages on care quality. Be sure to cite sources using APA properly; include references and in-text citations. Use section headers as needed to organize the information. Professional writing and formatting are essential. The title and reference pages do not count as part of the 5 pages.