Question:
As the business and practice of health care has grown more complex, health care organizations are increasingly turning to structural decentralization (i.e., a dispersion of responsibility within the organization) as a means of adapting to the ever-increasing complexity of the field. Although the degree of decentralization can vary from organization to organization, a common aspect of the decentralized organizational structure is the formal dispersion of specific responsibilities to task- or outcome-driven units known as responsibility centers, each of which is held accountable within the organization for its own performance.
To prepare for this Application Assignment, review the information on decentralization, responsibility centers, and organizational unit performance measurement in health care organizations presented in this week's Learning Resource readings and discussed by the presenters in this week's Course Media.
To complete this Application Assignment, write a 2- to 3-page paper in which you address the following:
Do you believe that health information technology should be managed as a service, cost, profit, or investment center? Support your opinion with at least two resources from outside the required readings.
As part of your response, describe the implications of managing health information technology as an expense to be controlled vs. a mechanism for revenue growth.
Your written assignments must follow APA guidelines. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.