Essay Sample on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Introduction

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is a privatized healthcare insurance that is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It aims at providing high quality and affordable healthcare services to its clients. It also focuses on disaster readiness by providing proper healthcare coverage and aces of services to both the employees and the clients ("Disaster Readiness | About Us", 2019). The healthcare facility acknowledges the fact that disaster may occur at any time and they are inevitable, and to this effect, they are striving to strengthen their capabilities in response to such pandemics.

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Nevertheless, BCBSMA faces risks and threats especially concerning the H1N1 pandemic. One of the significant risks is that the H1N1 pandemic leads to outbreaks of many diseases that affect a large number of the US population ("WHO | What is the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus?", 2019). Moreover, it worsens the health condition of patients suffering from chronic diseases such as asthma and heart problems. This, in turn, poses a threat to BCBSMA since as the number of affected patients is high; it becomes difficult to provide adequate healthcare services. Therefore, once the services are disrupted, it affects all the stakeholders since the patients will not receive quality service, employees may be overburdened, and the entire facility will fail to meet its core objectives to its clients (Lietz, Westermann, Nienhaus & Schablon, 2016).

Following the foreseen crisis that may face the entity, as a leader, I would integrate contingency planning and strategic planning to devise strategies that would help to address the crisis in the event they occur in the future (Eriksson & McConnell, 2011). It would involve allocating sufficient resources that would help to minimize stakeholder's inconveniences once the crisis occurs. For example, in the case scenario above, contingency planning would help to seek additional medical help externally so that the facility can meet the medical needs of the affected people.

In the next five years, Blue Cross Blue Shield is bound to operate in an external environment that may create various threats and risks to the operational efficiency of the company. The major risks include environmental, industry competition, and technological aspects (Gupta, 2013). Environmental risks relate to the potential pandemics that may result due to environmental factors that affect the patients. For example, disease outbreaks are inevitable, and they may occur affecting the operational efficiency of the facilities as it is in the case of the H1N1 pandemic. As a way to address this, the management should allocate enough resources that can help to minimize the inconveniences in a case where the crisis occurs. Also, the facilities should focus on integrating environmentally sustainable practices since as the customer preferences change, in the future, customers may prefer healthcare facilities that focus on conserving the environment.

Also, the continued development in technology may create a threat to the operational efficiency of Blue Cross Blue Shield. There is growing evidence that technology is becoming highly turbulent where facilities are automating a higher proportion of their services (Gupta, 2013). Within the next five years, automation will have sank to mots of facilities and to this effect Blue Cross Blue Shield needs to invest sufficient funds in adopting the changing technological equipment so at to keep up with the industry trend in the future. More importantly, it will involve engaging in research and development to identify the most appropriate and effective equipment that aid in achieving the core objective of the facilities while still maintaining the industry requirements.

Lastly, competition is a fundamental aspect that poses threats to most of the facilities regardless of the industry they are operating. In the next five years, some healthcare facilities working in the same sector as Blue Cross Blue Shield may be growing while other new ones may enter the industry posing a threat to the facilities. In such a case, the management ought to streamline its services so that they achieve their intended value to their customers as well as striving to capture the changing needs of the customers. Furthermore, consumer needs and preferences are bound to change with time (Gupta, 2013).

References

Disaster Readiness | About Us. (2019). Retrieved from https://aboutus.bluecrossma.com/disaster-readiness

Eriksson, K., & McConnell, A. (2011). Contingency planning for crisis management: Recipe for success or political fantasy?. Policy And Society, 30(2), 89-99. doi: 10.1016/j.polsoc.2011.03.004

Gupta, A. (2013). Environment & PEST Analysis: An approach to external business environment. International Journal Of Modern Social Sciences, 2(1), 34-43. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d9d2/86c5a903a91d4e5e6cff565f186f91383a02.pdf

Lietz, J., Westermann, C., Nienhaus, A., & Schablon, A. (2016). The occupational risk of influenza a (H1N1) infection among healthcare personnel during the 2009 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. PLOS ONE, 11(8), e0162061. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162061

WHO | What is the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus?. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/frequently_asked_questions/about_disease/en/