New National Benchmarking Survey Examines Health Care Strategic Planning

What is the current state of strategic planning at the nation’s hospitals and health systems? What advanced planning techniques are being used and what types of outcomes are they producing? How does health care strategic planning stack up against planning practices outside of the health care industry?

A new book published by Health Strategies & Solutions, Inc., and the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development presents findings of a survey of 440 health care organizations to determine current practices in health care strategic planning, and then profiles 12 health care organizations that exemplify advanced planning approaches. In Raising the Bar: Best Practices for Healthcare Strategic Planning, author Alan M. Zuckerman, a management consultant with over 30 years of health care strategic planning experience and president of Health Strategies & Solutions, also compares health care strategic planning with strategic planning in best-practice organizations outside of health care.

"We found that most of the health care organizations that completed the survey felt quite positive about strategic planning practices within their organizations, and, in fact, health care providers have made great strides in improving planning from basic, ad hoc activities to a more thoughtful, thorough, and regularly used discipline," commented Zuckerman. "But when we examined organizations inside and outside of health care that are using advanced or next-generation strategic planning techniques, it’s clear that there are huge opportunities for health care organizations to improve their planning processes and reap greater benefits."

Health Strategies & Solutions is a leading independent health care management consulting firm, providing a variety of services to community and specialty hospitals, academic medical centers, physician practices, and large health systems. The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development is the premier organization for 4,400 health care professionals responsible for strategy development and implementation in a wide array of health care organizations. The society is one of 11 personal membership groups affiliated with the American Hospital Association.

Copies of Raising the Bar: Best Practices for Healthcare Strategic Planning can be ordered at https://www.associationstores.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?section=10121&item=2941 or by calling 800.242.2626 and asking for item number 136601.