Challenges Of Accounting In Healthcare Industry

Introduction:

The aim of this particular section of the study is to discuss the methodology that shall be undertaken for the purpose of carrying out the research study. The topic discusses about the challenges that major health care organizations face at the time of keeping a record of the expenses and other accounting related works. It is when a proper record is not kept, the organization faces major drawback in terms of profitability. Thus, it is important for every organization to maintain their accounting records regularly.

Justification for the selection of topic:

Health care industry in Australia is gaining much importance like any other industry. In the recent time, with economic stability, people can afford their medi-claim and can spend good amount of money on their health. In fact people are becoming more conscious and have been found to keep a track on their health at a regular basis (Ministry of Health. 2012). It is for the same reason, keeping a record of the accounts on a regular basis is important. However, these organizations often face challenges in doing so. So this research study has been undertaken to find out certain approaches that the organizations in health care industry might undertake to overcome the challenges (Friedman et al. 2006).

Research question:

The research question that has been identified for this particular research study is:

1. What steps shall an organization undertakes in order to keep regular record of accounting that would directly impact the profitability of the health care organizations?

Justification of the research question:

With the detailed investigation and critical analysis carried on during the literature review of the research study, it has been found that major authors are well aware of the degrading condition of the profitability of the health care organizations. In fact, it has also been cleared that the major reason behind the lessening profitability of these organizations is the inappropriate way of keeping the accounts (Oracle.com 2015). Thus, it is very important to think of certain ways that these organizations might undertake in order to overcome the challenges (Matthews and Ross 2014). Therefore, this particular research question has been selected for this particular study. It is expected that with detailed research, the answer to this question can be easily identified. The answer to this research question shall be really beneficial and helpful for the organization to overcome their challenges and create a better business situation that aims at keep a regular record of the accounting and other related activity (Dorgan and Layton 2010). In this way, the organizations shall increase their margin of profitability.

Research Methodology:

Research methodology is the way of designing the research in an appropriate manner. It is important to frame a research methodology before conducting a research. It is when a research methodology is framed in a proper way it becomes easier for the researcher to carry out the research in a systematic way. For carrying out the research on the challenges of accounting in health care, below mentioned methodology shall be used:

Research philosophy:

Research philosophy is the set of beliefs that help to develop the nature of study. There are three research philosophies, namely, positivism, realism and interpretivism. Philosophy helps to understand the theories of the study in an in depth manner (Matthews and Ross 2014). For this particular research study, positivism research philosophy has been selected. Using this research philosophy would help to investigate the research topic in a logical and critical manner. The other two philosophies shall not be used because those are based on human perception and it might vay from person to person.

Research approach:

The two research approaches are inductive and deductive research approaches. Deductive research approach deals with the already existing theories and models whereas the inductive approach talks about the new models and theories (Blumberg et al. 2014). Deductive approach has been undertaken for this particular research because it is better to carry out the research based on the existing theories and model rather than depending on creation of new theories (Tarone et al. 2013). In fact, perception of people might vary and the theories might not decipher the right objectives.

Research design:

The three basic research designs followed by the researchers are analytical or the descriptive research design, explanatory and the exploratory research design (Glesne 2015). Research design aims at getting a detailed approach of the research. It is for the same reason, analytical or the descriptive research approach has been undertaken for this particular research (Gast and Ledford 2014). It shall be useful because an in depth idea of the major theories and other secondary resources can be evaluated in the right way. Other two research approaches shall not be used for this study because a detailed investigation and analysis of the topic shall not be carried on by using these research designs.

Research strategy:

It is important to undertake a proper research strategy in order to conduct the study in the right direction. Different research strategies used for a research are case studies, focus groups, survey methods, interview techniques and others (Taylor et al. 2015). When the research is based on a large group of people, survey and interview techniques are the best suitable research strategy that can be used. In order to understand the problems and challenges faced by professionals in the health care organizations, it is better to use the interview and survey technique for the research study (Glesne 2015). Other strategies shall not be used because, in that case, the actual challenges faced by the professionals cannot be determined.

Sampling technique and sample size:

As it has been proposed that survey and interview technique shall be undertaken for the purpose of gaining information about the actual challenges faced by the major organizations for carrying out accounting related works (Flick 2015). For the survey, both probability and non-probability sampling technique shall be used. It is expected that 75 employees of the health care organizations shall be used as the major respondents for the research study. In addition to this, 3 higher level authorities shall be interviewed as well in order to gain knowledge about the actual challenges and issues that they face while working. For this purpose, simple random sampling technique shall be used in order to gain proper outcome for the survey.

Data collection method:

The research outcome is based on both primary and secondary data sources. Thus, the data collection technique shall be focused on collecting both primary and secondary data sources. As mentioned, for the primary data, survey and interview technique shall be used. Thus, the primary research is based on both qualitative and quantitative approaches (Smith 2015). Survey is the quantitative form while the interview technique is the qualitative research approach to be undertaken for this research. This way the actual information about the condition of the employees at the health care organizations shall be known. For the secondary research, the data has been collected from the various sources available in printed on in online format (Blumberg et al. 2014). The major secondary data are the theories and information based on the research topic. Previous researches based on similar topics can also be used as secondary data. Various books and journals can be referred to get an in depth knowledge and understanding on the particular research topic.

Data analysis technique:

It is the most important part of the complete research as it is only based on the data analysis a proper conclusion of the complete research can be gained. Therefore, the collected data needs to be analyzed in the right manner. In order to do so, the quantitative data shall be converted to numerical forms and then the numerals can be evaluated by using any standard statistical tool (Gast and Ledford 2014). The same numerals can be converted into charts and graphs that the same can be represented in a linear form and the analysis can be made easily. For analyzing the qualitative data, it is expected that a detailed analysis of the interview taken from experts shall be converted into themes (Tarone et al. 2013). Thus, a thematic approach can be undertaken for the purpose of analyzing the qualitative primary data.

Ethical consideration of the research:

It is very important to carry out the research study following the right ethical standard. In order to do so, several checks are done in order to carry out the research following the ethical standard (Matthews and Ross 2014). For the secondary data, it is expected that the theories and other information collected from the various sources shall be referenced in the right way. When the work is not referenced in the right way, there remains the chance of plagiarized content (Choy 2014). Thus, it is recommended that all the theories, concepts have to be referenced. For the quantitative survey, none of the respondents shall be forced to participate. There should not be any signs or symbols of any organization in the survey paper that would act as an advertising or promotional factor. In addition to this, all the respondents should be asked to sign a consent form that shall portray about their consent of responding.

Limitation of the research:

There can be certain research limitations as well. For instance, it might happen that the existing theories or concepts might not be enough to create a detailed understanding of the research topic under consideration. There might be problems in accessing the books and journals related to the topic (Neuman 2016). The survey respondents might give their response on an overall approach rather than being specific. The experts might be biased in their own opinion and might not provide the actual information related to the topic of discussion (Vamsi Krishna Jasti and Kodali 2014). This way the result of the overall research findings might not be fulfilled. The time duration can also be a major limitation for this study.

Research schedule:

Below is the research schedule. It is expected that duration of 24 weeks shall be required for completing the research project.

Table: Gantt chart

(Source: As created by the author)

References:

Blumberg, B.F., Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S., 2014. Business research methods. McGraw-hill education.

Choy, L.T., 2014. The strengths and weaknesses of research methodology: Comparison and complimentary between qualitative and quantitative approaches. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(4), pp.99-104.

Dorgan, S., and Layton, D. 2010. Management in Healthcare:Why good practice really matters. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from https://worldmanagementsurvey.org/wp-content/images/2010/10/Management_in_Healthcare_Report_2010.pdf [Accessed on: 14-5-2017]

Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage.

Friedman, L., Baker, G., and Carpenter, G. 2006. Understanding healthcare financial management. Retrieved from https://www.ache.org/pubs/chap1-3gapenski5th.pdf [Accessed on: 14-5-2017]

Gast, D.L. and Ledford, J.R., 2014. Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.

Glesne, C., 2015. Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson.

Matthews, B. and Ross, L., 2014. Research methods. Pearson Higher Ed.

Ministry of Health. 2012. Health Care Records - Documentation and Management. NWS. Retrieved from https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/ActivePDSDocuments/PD2012_069.pdf [Accessed on: 14-5-2017]

Neuman, W.L., 2016. Understanding research. Pearson.

Oracle.com 2015. Profitability and Cost Management in Healthcare. Retrieved from https://www.oracle.com/us/industries/healthcare/042343.pdf [Accessed on: 14-5-2017]

Smith, J.A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.

Tarone, E.E., Gass, S.M. and Cohen, A.D., 2013. Research methodology in second-language acquisition. Routledge.

Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.

Vamsi Krishna Jasti, N. and Kodali, R., 2014. A literature review of empirical research methodology in lean manufacturing. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 34(8), pp.1080-1122.