Discuss why small clinic centers need to use SWOT analysis at least twice a year in UAE Assignment
Introduction - Discuss why small clinic centers need to use SWOT analysis at least twice a year in UAE?
Most of the people thinks that SWOT analysis is developed from a Stanford university research project. The term first used was SOFT analysis which afterword converted into SWOT analysis.
SWOT analysis is a tool used for a thorough inspection of internal factors affecting the organization and its strategy. These factors include weaknesses and strengths along with the opportunities & threats. The tool is quite effective in getting a plain picture of the business.
Internal factors are strengths [like faculties, strong leaders] and weaknesses [technologies] that includes the resources and ability of the organization. The person or the organization has most control over internal factors. E.g.: - resources like financial resources, technical resources etc. External factors are opportunities [like to expand online, creating custom programs and others] and threats [reduced funding] outside the organization %means the factors that can influence the organization. E.g.: - technology innovation and changes, competition, social trend etc.
What is swot
SWOT is an acronym for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis is used by a person or organization to identify their strength, weakness, opportunities and threat by doing strategic planning and strategic management technique. Strategic planning needs realistic and objective assessment (Rêgo, et. Al., 2019).
There are four steps to analysis and five rules to obey SWOT in healthcare. SWOT analysis has been adopted by hospitals for their effective and straightforward methods (Abedi, et. Al., 2018).
FIRST STEP: - Pull Together Key Data
High performing hospitals must do the analysis of data therefore first step taken in the healthcare is to collect and evaluate important data which can include information’s like patient health and disease registries, funding sources. They don’t have to use every single information just have to use or focus on key points that related to the organization’s strategy. Once all the information is gathered, double check their accuracy and then identify clinics organization capabilities. Do see whether clinics organization has slow emergency rooms compare to others (Arshad, et. Al., 2017).
SECOND STEP: - Do Clinics SWOT Analysis
Take the data collected and organize them according to SWOT categories [ strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats].
The data can be helpful to see in which area clinics are good and in clinics must improve, what are there financial strengths and weaknesses?
THIRD STEP: - Develop SWOT Matrices
This is an optional step. In this a four-box SWOT matrix for business unit should be developed. It may not be necessary for small clinics that’s why it is optional.
FOURTH STEP: - Perform Analysis and Make Decisions
In this clinic will do analysis according to what clinics have learned in above three steps. According to which future strategies should be planned like in which field clinics’ weak.
5 RULES
Be specific
Be objective
Be realistic
Apply context
Keep it simple
Why do clinics need SWOT in healthcare?
The healthcare industry doesn’t give room to a mediocre. Every hospital and clinics need license to operate that provide surgical and non-surgical diagnostic. As from the research done by World Health Care there are at least 19.4 million nurses, 9.2 million physicians, and midwives, 2.6 million pharmacists, 1.9 million dentists, and over 1.3 million community health workers worldwide (Denecke, et. Al., 2019). This tells that healthcare community is largest workers in any nation.
SWOT
Strength: it means that in healthcare centers, hospitals and clinics have a team of highly experience and qualified professionals. The fact that they are some of the excellent hands in the city in which hospital is located.
Weaknesses: the hospitals and clinics need very huge amount of money or funds to operate and to maintain the staff and the medical equipment hence the weakness can be the running out of funds.
Opportunities: opportunities are available in each sectors also in the healthcare. The medical clinics are not only for the sick and need treatment but also for them who need regular checkups for time to time.
Threats: like financial threats, customer threats, internal threat, learning and growth threats. An unstable funds, less medical equipment’s and unhygienic environment can be a threat for any hospital and clinics.
Benefits of SWOT in healthcare
There are numberless benefits of SWOT analysis.
SWOT Analysis Arms Clinics Against Future Obstacles – By doing proper SWOT analysis then clinics can discuss future threats and do future planning with clinics team that can help to control clinics progress (Dias, et. Al., 2020).
It Uncovers the Untapped Opportunities for Clinics to Take Advantages Of – whether clinics have a hospital or a small clinic there always a room for progress. If clinics business has reached the certain point than also clinics can improve and its where SWOT plays a role it gives clinics to find new possibilities to improve and get ready of the upcoming threats (Hicks, 2021).
It Gets Clinics Medical Business Out of The Tunnel Vision Trap – all the businessmen think that their strength weakens their demerits due to it can break their whole organization. The SWOT analysis tells the organization about their weaknesses and their shortcomings so they can turn them into there strength (Fusco, et. Al., 2020).
Clinics Can SWOT Analysis to Reverse Engineer Clinics Competitors – another benefit of SWOT analysis is that clinics can keep an eye on clinics competition. This will give clinics information about their strengths and weaknesses (Ganesan & Veena, 2018).
Conclusion
SWOT analysis is not a product – it is the first step for moving forward in business and cutting our competitors. The first step towards planning the strategy and identifying their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It also helps to check or maintain our progress and our weaknesses and seizing our opportunity. Going forward they can see their results and can see all the positive outcomes and the negative threats that could affect the organization. The SWOT analysis will help to plan strategies for the clinics from which outcomes will increase. Thus, they can increase their opportunity and strength and can maintain their funds by future planning.
References
Abedi, G., Soltani Kontai, S. A., Marvi, A., Mazidi, S., Abedini, E., & Abbasi Chaleshtary, A. (2018). SWOT analysis of health reform plan on healthcare sector from the stakeholder perspective. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 28(166), 199-212.
Arshad, A., Noordin, M. F., & Othman, R. (2017). A synthesis on swot analysis of public sector healthcare knowledge management information systems in Pakistan. IJACSA) International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 8(8).
Denecke, K., Tschanz, M., Dorner, T. L., & May, R. (2019). Intelligent conversational agents in healthcare: hype or hope. Stud Health Technol Inform, 259, 77-84.
Dias, C., Santos, M. F., & Portela, F. (2020). A SWOT Analysis of Big Data in Healthcare. In ICT4AWE (pp. 256-263).
Fusco, A., Dicuonzo, G., Dell’Atti, V., & Tatullo, M. (2020). Blockchain in healthcare: Insights on COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 7167.
Ganesan, L., & Veena, S. R. (2018). ‘Make In India’For Healthcare Sector in India: A SWOT Analysis on Current Status and Future Prospects.
Hicks, J. S. (2021). Conducting a SWOT Analysis and Assessing Clinic Roles to Improve Integrated Healthcare.
Rêgo, F., Portela, F., & Santos, M. F. (2019). Towards PWA in healthcare. Procedia Computer Science, 160, 678-683.
