Understanding health care financial terms is a prerequisite for both academic and professional success. This assignment is intended to ensure you understand some of the basic terms used in this course.
Complete the worksheet below according to the following guidelines:
In the space provided, write each term’s definition as used in health care management. You must define the term in your own words.
In the space provided after each term’s definition, summarize a health care management scenario that illustrates the importance of the skill, concept, procedure, or tool that the term refers to in 125 to 150 words. In the scenario, you may wish to consider the following:
o Why is the skill, concept, procedure, or tool necessary for accurate record keeping, operational efficiency, excellent patient services, employee management, regulatory compliance, reducing costs, forecasting, and so forth? o What successes are enabled by an adequate understanding or appropriate application of the skill, concept, procedure, or tool? o What risks or failures are associated with an inadequate understanding or inappropriate application of the skill, concept, procedure, or tool?
Save the completed worksheet as a Microsoft® Word® document with your name in the file name.
Submit the file to your instructor.
Worksheet
Submitted By:
|Term |Definition |Scenario |
|Forecast |A financial plan for your business. A way to run |I forecast my expenses and revenues for my department for the |
| |your business financially. |next two years. I submit this plan to the Chief Financial |
| | |Officer. She combines my information with the other department |
| | |managers in order to create a budget for the entire organization.|
| | |We operate from this budget for the next fiscal year then repeat |
| | |the process. Each year we must think about any increases, |
| | |decreases, capital expenses, staffing changes, and maintenance |
| | |contracts that may need to be adjusted. We must also think about|
| | |revenue from our patients and any changes in insurance plans. |
| | |It is an in-depth process to forecast accurately. |
|Full-time equivalents |Full time equivalents are the ratio of the total |I have 32 employees at my work place, but they are not all FTE’s.|
| |number of paid hours during a period to employees |6 work 50% effort which is equivalent to 3 FTE’s. If counting |
| |that may work part time hours. |FTE’s I would have 29. FTE’s can be tricky because some |
| | |budgets will allow staff based on FTE’s and others (like mine) |
| | |allow based on head count. Employees receive a full benefits |
| | |package after 17.5 hours per week, so headcount matters, not |
| | |FTE’s. |
|Noncontrollable |Noncontrollable expenses are costs that cannot be |Some examples of noncontrollable expenses are rent, medical |
|expenses |changed by an individual. |malpractice insurance, and employee salaries. A manager would |
| | |not be able to change these costs on their own. They could |
| | |suggest moving to a less expensive building, but would need to |
| | |have company approval to move forward. Decreasing employee |
| | |salaries would also need to be approved and discussed through |
| | |Human Resources. This is not something usually done unless an |
| | |organization is facing hard times and downsizing. |
|Nonproductive time |Nonproductive time is time that is not directly |In healthcare, nonproductive time can exist in numerous places. |
| |spent producing something. |When a nurse is working in the Emergency Room, as she sits at the|
| | |desk and charts, she is interrupted routinely with chit chat from|
| | |co-workers. This is non productive time. |
| | |For support staff, in the morning when clinics are just opening |
| | |or before they open there is a lot of co-worker discussion that |
| | |typically is not about work. This is non productive time. Just|
| | |waiting for computers to start up and log in is non productive |
| | |time. |
| | |Calling patients or other facilities and waiting on hold is non |
| | |productive time. It has to be done, but it is non productive. |
|Staffing |A team of people carrying out the daily functions |I am in charge of staffing the front line desks at my |
| |of a business. |organization. The staffing pool is made of a diverse team with a|
| | |varied background. Some are medical assistants, some are LPN’s, |
| | |and some are seasoned secretaries. Together they work the front |
| | |line operations for a multi specialty medical facility providing |
| | |exceptional customer service to our patients. They complement |
| | |each other with their skills and help each other to satisfy the |
| | |needs of the patients. The scheduling of the staff can be a |
| | |challenge at times to ensure adequate coverage at all the desks |
| | |with vacations, continuing education time, meetings, and sick |
| | |time. The support staff are equal members of the staff and are |
| | |entitled to all the benefits of the organization. |
