Healthcare Administration: Stakeholders Comparison

Healthcare Administration: Stakeholders Comparison
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Healthcare Administration: Stakeholders Comparison
Stakeholders are individuals or parties that have a legitimate interest in an organization and can be affected, directly or indirectly, by the outcomes of the organization (Rotarius & Rotarius, 2017). They, therefore, take an active role in ensuring that the organization’s outcomes are aligned with the stakeholders’ goals. Stakeholders can be classified into two categories namely; internal and external stakeholders.
The following table presents a comparison of Internal and External Stakeholders in the Healthcare System:

Internal Stakeholders

External Stakeholders

1 Definition

While both the internal and external stakeholders have an interest in the healthcare system, their definition varies. Internal stakeholders operate within the healthcare system (Rotarius & Rotarius, 2017). They operate within the defined parameters of the organization or system and often participate in the day to day operation of the organization. Due to their active involvement (MAlik, Hilders, & Scheele, 2018), internal stakeholders are directly affected by the activities and outcomes of the healthcare organization. They ensure that there is coordination among all the relevant parties in the organization. Internal stakeholders are also referred to as primary stakeholders due to their direct association with the organization.

External stakeholders operate outside the boundaries of the healthcare system (Rotarius & Rotarius, 2017). They are not directly involved in the day to day activities of the system. They, however, offer their expertise, experience, and resources that facilitate the running of the day to day operations of the healthcare system. In some cases, external stakeholders compete with the organization, either directly or indirectly (Rotarius & Rotarius, 2017). Even in such a case, they still impact the day-to-day operations of the organization. Other external stakeholders neither provide services nor compete with the organization but they have a special interest in the organization and are still able to influence day-to-day activities, indirectly. External stakeholders are referred to as secondary stakeholders.

2 Parties Involved

While all the parties involved have an interest in the organization, internal stakeholders have a primary stake in the organization. Internal stakeholders are usually employees that work under the management of the system. They include owners and employees of the organization. In the case of the healthcare system, internal stakeholders include the organization’s founder/owner, administrators, governing boards, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other hospital staff (Rotarius & Rotarius, 2017). Their contribution to the organization is direct and the organization has to motivate them to ensure continuous and productive contributions.

External stakeholders have a secondary stake in the organization. They include patients, the media, suppliers, and the local community (Rotarius & Rotarius, 2017). Also, competitors, either organization that competes for patients or hosp...