The Bad Image Radiology Department of Macmillan Hospital - Case Study Sample

Owing to the generous donation by its first benefactor Abner Macmillan, MacMillan hospital prides itself on its sizeable expanse both in capacity and services offered. To a large extent, it flaunts its superiority over its competitors especially considering its favorable location as a major trump card. While this is a fact, the hospital has had its shares of snags, some of which have threatened its prestigious reputation. The management could have easily avoided a majority of these had they steered clear of some pitfalls while taking the necessary, early steps towards rectification.

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A number of factors played a contributory effect towards the ultimate lawsuits that plagued the hospital, in addition to a tank in reputation. Though well-intentioned, the restructuring of management by the chief executive Gargon that resulted in the loss of jobs by many served as a tip of the iceberg that sparked a chain of undesirable events. Resultantly, the move left a number of disgruntled managers. Additionally, a duality in command was later observed due to the matrix hierarchy that resulted which blurred the line of authority as expected. Gargon should have made a deliberate attempt to motivate the remaining managers towards working past their discontent and understanding the necessity of the move for the overall success of the hospital. Creating an environment of trepidation with his employees, whereby no one was to bother him unless under particular circumstances, did little to help his cause.

Further to this, a signed contract with Goodview who had ties to the company's stake though his wife was a clear error in judgment. Giving him the power of employing himself as well as the radiologists with whom he worked, had a negative impact on his accountability. On top of that, his relationship with one of the hospital stakeholders was an obvious conflict of interest that possibly led to Gargon's indecision against him despite the many complaints launched by Halton, his Vice president. Consequently, Halton felt underappreciated and a glaring communication flow issue within the administration developed. Gargon should have seen to it that a proper chain of command was observed and had a discussion with Goodview to that effect. Listening to his Vice President should have been a priority.

Goodview's inability to maintain radiologists under his payroll spoke volumes about his incompetence in management. Having bought out his partners, it was apparent that he felt he was answerable to no one. This lack of supervision allowed Goodview to squander hospital resources towards a cable internet for his personal use without consent by the relevant authorities. It also saw Sally Lebeau the chief technologist's efforts to voice her concerns over the degradation of the quality of medical imaging, bear no fruits. Moreover, her attempts to bring a change towards proper implementation, were disapproved. The board of directors, through the chief executive, should have appointed a custodian whose main objective would see to the proper use of hospital resources by contractors and facilitate quality of standards mechanism for the services offered to patients.

The cavalier way in which Halton handles Lebeau's apprehensions towards Goodview's activities, well captured by her clear lack of responsibility, played quite a vital impact in the chain of events. Had he focused on the quality of imaging rather than on Goodview's abuse of resources, and made considerable efforts towards remedying the situation, there would have been a high likelihood that a proper diagnosis would have been made on Ms. Tendo. Gargon's hesitation towards taking action against Goodview upon Leipzig's report and consequent resignation and despite LeBeau's testimony to the same provided a platform that allowed more blunders by Goodview. Prompt termination of Goodview's contract would have served to mitigate the problem better.

Accordingly, MacMillan found themselves entangled in a web of court proceedings. While they deservedly won their case against Goodview, it was apparent they shouldered a lot of blame with regards to Ms. Tendos misdiagnosis. However, they could still remedy the situation by making a formal apology to the stakeholders and offering a settlement that would make an effort towards compensation of the estate. They could also take a step further and make the necessary arrangement for her burial and shoulder the costs. Most importantly, the hospital should take appropriate measures against those responsible for the issue. Gargon and Harlton clearly displayed a deficiency in management capabilities and could be recommended for training while allowing more deserving and capable candidates to take up their roles.

In light of the above factors, it is evident that hospital executives play a crucial role towards the successful running of the hospital. Neglect on their part has catastrophic effects culminating in untimely deaths. Therefore, it is apt that proper mechanisms are put in place that to ensure the quality of services offered to patients adheres to the stipulated standards according to hospital policies. Executives need to be keen enough to take note of irregularities and intervene where necessary. A delay in taking action against perpetrators has shown to be quite costly. Hospital executives, therefore, need to ensure a proper communication structure within the organization and be vigilant as well as decisive especially in their supervisory roles.

Douglas Thomas and William Judge Jr. "Total quality management implementation and competitive advantage: the role of structural control and exploration."

Work Cited

Prieto, C., et al. "Image retake analysis in digital radiography using DICOM header information." Journal of digital imaging22.4 (2009): 393-399.