Healthcare organizations have the responsibility to implement changes that are beneficial to the patient, staff, and organization. Primary areas driving change in healthcare include quality improvement, customer satisfaction, improvement of working conditions, and diversification of the healthcare workforce. There is a need to make continuous adjustments in healthcare processes to maintain optimal functions. There are various techniques that can be used to identify where these adjustments need to be made. One of those techniques is healthcare SWOT analysis, which involves the discussion of a healthcare organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Healthcare SWOT analysis is widely known and is performed by a group of experts who have the ability to analyze the organization’s information from a critical perspective. This group includes board members, senior leaders, employees, patients, medical staff, technical experts, and community leaders. Parameters used for the healthcare SWOT analysis are outcome measures, utilization rates, organizational performance measures, satisfaction of patients, and financial status. Healthcare SWOT analysis is done on the basis of data and facts and then the conclusion is drawn by the opinion of the group of experts.
What is SWOT Analysis?
SWOT analysis is the process of examining an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, its opportunities for growth and improvement, and the threats that it faces in its survival from the external environment. SWOT analysis is extensively used in every industry, including the healthcare sector. Ideally, healthcare SWOT analysis includes a comprehensive assessment of the in-depth data analysis, healthcare literature, and inputs from a panel of healthcare SWOT analysis experts. These findings are categorized into four groups in a SWOT analysis template:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
Furthermore, there are two kinds of analysis to supplement healthcare SWOT analysis:
Force field analysis: This supplements SWOT analysis by determining the forces behind the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This is further supplemented by gap analysis, which helps in identifying the points where deficiencies exist in a healthcare organization’s delivery of care and services. Such analyses help in promoting:
(1) Comprehensive understanding of obstructions to innovation, change, and transfer of knowledge to practice
(2) Enhanced outcomes
(3) Allocation of resources efficiently
Here is an example of a healthcare SWOT analysis template:
SWOT Analysis Template
Strengths
- Excellent medical staff
- Strong commitment towards achieving community mission
- Excellent facilities at the hospital
- The outstanding quality of healthcare
- High level of organizational efficiency
Weaknesses
- The scarcity of adequate resources
- The Scarcity of primary care network
- Lack of critical staff
Opportunities
- Increase in metropolitan community
- Growth in managed care business
- Increasing programs for community healthcare
Threats
- Reduction in the reimbursement from the government
- Increasing competition for specialty physicians
- Increase in competition from healthcare provider networks
To know more about healthcare SWOT analysis and gain a more accurate SWOT analysis template for your organization
