Online Bill Paying Service Discussion Using Finan

The primary role of financial management in healthcare is to manage money in a way that helps the organization achieve its financial and operational goals while also providing efficient, quality care to patients.

The office manager or administrator needs to understand the role that financial data plays in the reporting process in order to plan and forecast the needs of the organization. Imagine setting up your monthly bills using your bank’s online bill paying service without knowing your current balance or if or when money will be deposited into your account. How successful would you be? Now imagine trying to manage a healthcare organization without knowledge of what makes an organization operate.

In the Discussion, you examine how financial information is used in the decision-making process and in planning and forecasting a healthcare organization’s needs.

Post a comprehensive response to the following:

• Describe a situation in which you or someone you know had to make a major financial decision. This does not need to be a health-related decision. What financial information was needed to make the decision? What was the outcome of the decision? What would you do differently when making future major financial decisions?
• Imagine that you are a manager of a multi-care clinic. You are responsible for handling financial information daily, and many of your decisions are based on how you interpret the information. Give an example of how financial information is used to make decisions in the clinic. Choose and answer only one of the following:
  • What are some similarities and differences between the decision-making process in the clinic compared to in making the personal decision you described earlier?
  • From the organization’s point of view, what are the implications of not properly managing financial information in the clinic compared to in your personal life?
• As the manager of a multi-care clinic, discuss how financial information would assist you in planning and forecasting for the clinic’s needs.

Provide specific examples in your response. Support your post with the Learning Resources and at least one outside scholarly source.

Harrington, M. K. (2016). Health care finance and the mechanics of insurance and reimbursement. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

• Chapter 1, “Introduction to Healthcare Finance” (pp. 3–16)
• Chapter 2, “Financial Management” (pp. 19–41)