Final Paper

This is due on or before Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Building on the work you completed in Weeks Two and Four, you will complete a feasibility study based on a pre-approved health care project of your choice. Using the feasibility study outlined in the Daniels and Dickson (1990) article as a model, and including a minimum of six other scholarly sources,  create a 12- to 15-page feasibility study that includes the following headings and supporting information:

Evaluating Feasibility
The concept of a feasibility study is central to viability, the “worth to the effort” ratio, and return on investment (ROI). What needs to be taken into consideration to create a feasibility study (e.g., human resources, community needs, and technological advances, federal and state regulatory issues)?  Within this section, you will research and design an economical health care service that is responsive to a given market. This research stems from understanding your target population and present need in health services. Furthermore, as you have seen from the Daniels and Dickson (1990) article, you must appraise your human resources, capital investment, and how your effort will yield a return on investment from a facilities perspective as well as the tangible greater good of providing healthcare to a community. 

Strategic Effect
Analyze the role of public policy with regard to your project. What policies and processes should be in place to create an effective program? How will you measure the effectiveness of your program and your provision of health care services? Develop a microeconomic model that is responsive to the specific health care service demands of your target population. For example, the current trend of the medical home model, which allows for the coordination of care, allows for better communication among service providers as well as convenience for patients. Is the population a market priority? How does your program serve a need for your target population?

Market Analysis
Within this section you will identify the population demographics, who your competitors are, and whether or not a real need for the services you are proposing exists in the community. As you examine the demographic and population needs using Census data and other reliable sources, you must also consider what competitors, if any, exist in the present climate. This requires an evaluation of the present socioeconomic and cultural trends influencing how people make decisions in health care. In addition, in this analysis you will need to compare and contrast economic challenges and incentives among health care’s organization models. This comparison requires an understanding of past challenges and incentives that other organizations have implemented.

Financial Analysis
This section includes the revenue, expenses, and net income. Compare and contrast economic challenges and incentives by finding and describing multiple sources of public and private funding (e.g., grants, donations, awards, special projects) for this project. Include a reference list for your funding sources that is formatted in APA as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Next, identify the funding constraints for each source. Include limitations of monies awarded, timing issues, fitting the needs of the funding sources, difficulties of connecting with private funders, etc. Finally, specify the internal ramifications of moving forward using SWOT analysis. What are the fixed and variable costs associated with your project? What are the annual maintenance and operation costs? Elaborate on how you arrived at your sensitivity analysis conclusions.

Operations Performance
This section examines the incremental effect of how your proposed service will impact all aspects of health services. This portion of the study explores how the statistical data you have researched affects the proposed service in terms of efficiency and value. This can be difficult to measure initially. However, through incremental and ongoing evaluation of operations, you can begin to see what constitutes the best performance in this instance and how it serves the target population. In this section, you will further illustrate the incentives and challenges faced by a health organization and communicate the relevance of economics within the U.S. health care system as it pertains to your proposed services.

Inpatient
If your proposed study has an inpatient component, this section will analyze on volume of patients, types of payers, and how utilization rates impact your proposed study. In addition, you will further explain how your new inpatient service will add value for patients and improve the financial viability of the institution. This section will require you to use both qualitative and quantitative data to justify the plan.  Hospitals operate in terms of how many beds are occupied relative to how many are empty. Most CEOs want to see that a unit is running at near full capacity and that volume is increasing year to year. Analyze how your proposal will meet these demands by explaining the data you have collected and predicting potential financial outcomes. Finally, evaluate and explain how value-based care will impact your ability to maintain margins within this newly proposed service.

Outpatient
If your proposed study has an outpatient component, examine how admissions, revenue, and workflow of staff will improve the efficiency of your proposed service. Analyze how your outpatient service will add value for patients and improve the financial viability of the institution. Justify your plan with appropriate data. As stated in the inpatient section, the content here applies much the same way. However, the caveat for outpatient services lies in the ambulatory setting. This aspect should be most interesting under conditions created by the Affordable Care Act. The new paradigm shift will be toward more preventative, primary, and outpatient care settings to reduce the numbers of patients being admitted to hospitals. Please explain how your proposal takes these conditions into consideration. In this section, you will further compare and contrast economic challenges and incentives among health care’s organization models in an outpatient setting. You will also further augment your design in an economic framework that is responsive to your market.

Outlook
This section examines future implications of your proposed services and how they will impact the future health outcomes of the community and financial health of the services being provided. Analyze economic theories that are germane to the provision of your proposed health services. What adjustments might you need to make in terms of what the “unintended consequences” may be? For example, Baylor Hospital in Houston proposed and spent 250 million to create a brand new hospital that currently stands empty because it was built during the U.S. economic downturn, the loan was no longer able to finance the construction, and the initial examination of its necessity did not play out as expected. Provide conclusions and implications of how your feasibility study fits within the larger context of the system of services currently being provided. How do they work with one another within the larger health care system?

Finally, evaluate how your study will respond to market and design models that impact the community based on current regulatory and market needs.

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:

1. Must be 12 to 15 double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must include a title page with the following:

   Title of paper
   Student’s name
   Course name and number
   Instructor’s name
   Date submitted

3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must include the listed headings with the content required under each.
6. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
7. Must use at least six scholarly sources that were published within the last five years, including a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources from the Ashford University Library. 
8. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
9. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Concept Paper

MHA 618

Date

Instructor Name

Running head: CONCEPT PAPER

1

CONCEPT PAPER

8

Concept Paper

As a result of the unstable social set up and spread of public knowledge of matters of sex, there have been changes in the legal aspect of the crime. Particularly, the changes touch on the rules of evidence and procedures, policing techniques as a result of technology, investigations exercises as well as prosecution of the victims. Besides, the term sex crime has been legally broadened to encompass the ordinary crimes such rape and molestation of children as well as the distribution of child pornography, lewd act with a child, and penetration of the genital or anal region on a foreign object as observed by Brownmiller (2015). As such, the expansiveness of the term increases the probability of the juvenile cases on sexual-based crimes. Indeed, the exposure to pornographic content online aggravates the rates of committing these crimes among people aged between 10-17 years (Burke, 2012).

To counter the rate of re-offence among those treated with for sexually based crimes; the study will present a feasible analysis of an expansion service projected to provide Mental Health Services for the youths within the Juvenile Justice System on sex crime accounts. Besides, these services are limited due to insufficient facilities and high charges. Thus, the study will test the essence of having Tele-psychiatry as a way to support the youth within the first 12 months of release. The report will conduct a feasibility study on the expansion project using such indicator as the market, finance, operation of the inpatient and outpatient as well as analyzing the facility and services outlook. Finally, it will make a decision based on the findings of the feasibility analysis.

Evaluating Feasibility

The section will entail analysis of such factors as the human resources, community needs, and technological advances, federal and state regulatory issues to make a valid case for the expansion project. The ensuing discussion presents the information required to test for feasibility of the Mental Health Service Facility. The analysis will be based on the SWOT analysis illustrated below.

S.W.O.T Analysis

Strengths: The strengths for the Mental Health Service Facility would be skilled human resources. Finance there will be an increment in expense due to the maintenance costs of the facility and the various fees paid on annual basis. However, the construction expense is fixed while the maintenance cost for salaried workers is variable costs.

Weaknesses: The weaknesses are the high cost of implementing the program. Making sure that patients adhere to the program provided to them.

Opportunities: Technology and incremental revenue opportunities. There would be an induced demand skilled human resources. There could be a high cost for new policies and technology for telepsychology. Thereby, providing the facility will qualify staff will fill the already existing gap in the community as shown by the SWOT analysis.

Threats: A threat for the Mental Health Service Facility would be competition from surrounding facilities in the area. The incremental cost of keeping the program going. Threats with strengths would be affordable services. This includes having skilled human resources to keep up with competition. Threats that could be weaknesses would be having to reduce impatient congestion because of high incremental cost

Strategic Effect

The section will analyze the effect of the public policy on the project as well as recommend policies that would empower the counseling and monitoring programs. Besides, it will determine the effects of population on targeted market and its priority.

Public Policy

The public policies for juvenile offenders are intricate such as the Juvenile Registration and the Restriction as well as Residency restriction will are vital in keeping the offenders increasing the attendance of the counseling sessions. Notably, these policies will also increase the number of inpatients.

Measure the of effectiveness

The effectiveness of counseling and monitoring will be assessed based on records to support the improvement claims. For instance, regularity in attending the counseling sessions as well as the nonresistance of the offenders to carry out the assessment tests will show improved results. Moreover, the observing by the supervision officers will also show the level of accomplishment attained in a given time.

Market priority

The population and its constituents will form the basis for the market priority. As such, densely populated areas require more counseling and monitoring than less dense areas. For instance, slums with poor housing, low literacy levels, and disposable income have high cases of sexual assaults.

Market Analysis

The population of United States according to the 2010 census was 308.7 million people. This represents an estimated growth of 9.7 percent from the previous census carried out in the year 2000. Figure.2 indicates that 9.7 juvenile arrested on account of sex crime per 100,000 people. Thus, we can estimate the current demand for the counseling service. Thus, as the population grows so does the demand for the Mental Hospital services. The estimated U.S. population in the year 2014 was 317,297,938 million. Therefore, at the time the juvenile offenders amounted to; (317,297,938/100,000)* 9.7 = 30777 cases in the year 2014.

Financial Analysis

The estimated expansion cost for 200 beds facilities is estimated at 200 million dollars which will come from the government, donors, senior hospitals as well as special projects. However, there are economic limitations implied by the diverse finance sources due to the stringent regulation and compliance requirements. Based on the SWOT analysis, there will be an increment in expense due to the maintenance costs of the facility and the various fees paid on annual basis.

Operations Performance

The fact that the expansion is functioning under the main hospital makes it hard for determination of the cost drivers complicated. Thus, the accountant would have to structure the accounts to different components to make the analysis goal-oriented and understandable.

Inpatient

The project number of patients average at 150 with a span of two months. Thus, the facility will handle 900 in patients within the first year after the expansion is complete. Comparatively, the facility will have a capacity of 200 beds. Thus; it will operate below the capacity in the first year.

Outpatient

After the discharge of the inpatient, they will constitute the outpatients to continue with the treatment. This will reduce the congestion and keep the treatment of the offenders consistent to generate high outcomes. Thus, the revenues and expenses of the outpatient will be lower than inpatient.

Outlook

The government effort to increase patients’ satisfaction through advocating for technology application and introducing premium payment will increase the demand for the facility services. As such, with the current staff and resources, there is a foreseeable congestion in the five years’ time, which calls for the improvement of the outpatient program to overcome this challenge.

Conclusion

The findings of this report indicate that the project is feasible regarding market, operation, finance as well as the serving the needs of the community among other tests. As such, implementation of the expansion project to include Mental Health Service for youths within the Juvenile System that receive treatment for the sexually based crimes and cannot access mental health treatment upon release.

References

Brownmiller, S. (2015). Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape. National Review, (19). 12.

Burke, S. (2012). Juveniles who sexually offend: Special Considerations for a Population

Difficult to Define. Corrections Today, 74(4), 66.

Daniels, E. B., & Dickson, T.C. (1990). Assessing the feasibility, Performance of geriatric clinics. Healthcare Financial Management, 44(2), 30-34. Retrieved from the ProQuest database

Dempsey, J. S., & Forst, L. S. (2013). An introduction to policing. Albany, N.Y: Delmar.

Freedman, E. B. (2013). Redefining rape: Sexual’ violence in the eras of suffrage and segregation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2013.

Mucic, D., & Hilty, D. M. (2016). e-Mental health.

Wright, R. G. (2015). Sex offender laws: Failed policies, new directions. New York, New York : Springer Publishing Company, 2015

Leff, B., Burton, L., Mader, S., Naughton, B., Burl, J., Greenough, WB. Burton, J. R. (2005). Hospital at home: Feasibility and outcomes of a program to provide hospital-level care at home for acutely ill older patients. Annals of Internal Medicine, 143(11), 798-808. Retrieved from ProQuest database.

Mastrangelo, A. (2012). Identifying juvenile firesetters: A survey of the operating procedures, risk assessment instruments and the characteristics of juvenile firesetter intervention programs in the United States. http://www.sosfires.com/professional-information/Articles/Identifying_Juvenile_Firesetters_-_Mastrangelo_Thesis