Preparing a Business Plan Suggested Guidelines

							Preparing a Business Plan: Suggested Guidelines
INTRODUCTION. For organizations considering entering into a partnership between a hospital and a physician practice (or group of physicians) for healthcare information technology initiatives, ensuring a good understanding of all the issues related to HIT in both the hospital organization and the physician/group practice setting is critical. By doing so, representatives from both organizations will not only have an opportunity to contribute to the success of the partnership but also demonstrate compliance as required by the Stark and Anti-Kickback regulations. In addition to preparing a SWOT analysis, a second way to ensure a solid understanding of accomplishing a specific objective is to prepare a business plan. A business plan will provide the structure needed to create a roadmap for getting from a current state to a future state by describing the current situation; identifying future plans; defining opportunities; and identifying financial, operational, and organizational strategies needed to achieve the objective. Although there are many business plan models that one may use, we believe that a business plan is best accomplished when a group of individuals work together to prepare a SWOT analysis of the current situation, prior to creating a business plan. A BUSINESS PLAN SUGGESTED OUTLINE. The following outline may used when developing a business plan for accomplishing a particular objective such as entering into a healthcare information technology partnership. Executive Overview. Components of the Executive Overview include a summary statement of the organization’s goals, objectives, mission, vision, and values as related to accomplishing a particular initiative. Organizational Overview. Components of the Organizational Overview include a mission statement, a values statement, an overview of key programs, a description of the organization’s business model, goals and objectives of the particular initiative (including specific project aims), and analysis of organizational stakeholders. An Understanding of the Current Healthcare Environment. Components of this section include an industry overview being certain to identify key players, identification of potential barriers to acceptance, a profile of potential business partners, a product description for the types of technologies to be used, and an analysis of the long term perspective of the technological components of the architecture to be used.

The information presented is for discussion purposes only. Page 1 of 2

Preparing a Business Plan: Suggested Guidelines

Financial Review. This section includes emphasis on all financial aspects needed to achieve the objectives by preparing a master budget, being certain to include all costs associated, i.e., implementation, planning, installation, and post-implementation support; identifying sources of funding; preparing a return on investment analysis; and preparing a sustainability plan. Action Plan. The Action Plan includes defining goals of achieving the objective from a shortterm, intermediate-term, and long-term perspective; identifying next steps; and identifying an approach to the project structure. Appendices. When preparing a business plan, be certain to include any references in this section. Attachments. To further justify the business plan, use the Attachments section to include exhibits of documents that will further explain the objectives to be accomplished. CONCLUSION. In conclusion, the information provided in this document is intended to facilitate discussion, help identify areas of focus, and most importantly, serve as a tool to help HIMSS members and their stakeholders identify ways to facilitate success in healthcare information technology initiatives. For further information, please contact: JoAnn W. Klinedinst, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, PMP Director, Healthcare Information Systems HIMSS jklinedinst@himss.org

The information presented is for discussion purposes only. Page 2 of 2