Health Care Financial Management: Reporting Practices and Ethics Essay Example
Health Care Financial Management: Reporting Practices and Ethics Marvin Dumlao HCS/405 April 6, 2010 Lisa Sanders Health Care Financial Management: Reporting Practices and Ethics
Whether operating as for-profit or non-profit, organizations must pay close attention to accounting practices and adhere to sound financial management procedures to remain solvent. This applies to health care organizations as well. With the costs of health care continuing to rise, it is not just consumers who have to manage budgets carefully. According to Hyman (2010) the cost of providing those services, the way patients pay for these services and the environment in which those services are important factors affecting the care provided or even not provided. This paper discusses elements of financial management crucial to health care organizations for continued operations, generally accepted accounting principles applicable to health care, and summarizes articles related to health care financial management.
Elements of Financial Management
Different sources refer to elements or principles of financial management and some sources discuss up to ten principles. Baker (2011) identifies four elements important to health care organizations reporting practices.
Planning
Financial managers must know the short-term and long-term objectives of their organizations to create plans fro meeting those objectives. One must identify the objectives and identify the steps necessary for reaching those objectives. Planning is more than the upper management of an organization deciding what it wants to accomplish. Effective planners define strategies when planning and seek the input of everyone involved in the process, and ensure everyone supports the plans and understands their roles in executing the plans.
Controlling Outside the realm of finance, controlling can have a negative
Whether operating as for-profit or non-profit, organizations must pay close attention to accounting practices and adhere to sound financial management procedures to remain solvent. This applies to health care organizations as well. With the costs of health care continuing to rise, it is not just consumers who have to manage budgets carefully. According to Hyman (2010) the cost of providing those services, the way patients pay for these services and the environment in which those services are important factors affecting the care provided or even not provided. This paper discusses elements of financial management crucial to health care organizations for continued operations, generally accepted accounting principles applicable to health care, and summarizes articles related to health care financial management.
Elements of Financial Management
Different sources refer to elements or principles of financial management and some sources discuss up to ten principles. Baker (2011) identifies four elements important to health care organizations reporting practices.
Planning
Financial managers must know the short-term and long-term objectives of their organizations to create plans fro meeting those objectives. One must identify the objectives and identify the steps necessary for reaching those objectives. Planning is more than the upper management of an organization deciding what it wants to accomplish. Effective planners define strategies when planning and seek the input of everyone involved in the process, and ensure everyone supports the plans and understands their roles in executing the plans.
Controlling Outside the realm of finance, controlling can have a negative