Critique of Budgetary and Financial Decision Making Processes in Healthcare Organizations

Setting Budgets in Healthcare Organizations

For a Health and Social Care organisation of your choice you are required to undertake a critique of the budgetary and financial decision making processes adopted by that organisation.

Key areas for your consideration: 

1)How are budgets set for a department or function within healthcare organisations (such as a ward, pathology department, catering, dementia
clinic etc ) 

2)Explore best practice for reporting budgetary performance from a theoretical perspective incorporating, for example, frequency of reporting, content of a budget report, the selection of a budget holder and the roles of key persons
within the reporting structures. 

3)  Answer EITHER option:

a)Critique your theoretical model of budget reporting to the reporting practices within a healthcare organisation of your choice

OR

b)Prepare a briefing note for new colleagues explaining the national and local factors that will directly impact upon, or influence, the viability of healthcare budgets with a NHS Trust.

Each element carries the same weighting 

4)It is essential before any major investment is made in the provision of healthcare there is a detailed and robust analysis of the long term financial impact. Techniques such as Net Present Value and Payback are common techniques.

As an experienced healthcare manager the deputy director of finance has asked your opinion on the following analysis

How do you interpret the outcome of the appraisal?

Set out FIVE questions you would ask the Deputy Director of Finance to explore and explain before you would be happy to support the proposal.

The analysis must be supported by academic theories and concepts and the paper must comply with the format stated above and Harvard referencing guidelines. The reflection must not be descriptive in nature; it should provide clear evidence of understanding of the issues under consideration with an applied review of the business