1- Since the start of the pay-for-performance and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), there has been intense pressure on the healthcare sector to improve quality of care while reducing expenses, specifically related to pharmacy. The stress has been exacerbated by expensive specialty medications, egregious price increases for some sole-source drug products, and the escalation of generic drug prices. Identify the strategic fundamentals of the problem and what mistakes were made in either the planning or implementation of the pay-for-performance and the Patient Protection/ACA.

2- What do you feel is the most important external factor influencing the healthcare industry at this time and why? Be sure to support your statements with logic and argument, citing any sources referenced.

3- How can a market analysis provide the concrete data required to steer planning and development into a new venture? If you were the CEO of a healthcare facility of your choice, what aspects of a recent market analysis would you use to pursue a competitive advantage for a new venture? Support your response with specific examples and respond to the postings of at least two classmates.

4- Identify the four components of a SWOT analysis and describe in detail how a SWOT analysis can be used in the strategic planning process.

5- It is imperative that healthcare organizations recruit and retain qualified staff. What methods do healthcare organizations use today to recruit, as well as retain, health care professionals in the presence of a competitive market as well as in a rural environment? Provide specific examples.

6- How is strategic planning and implementation used in healthcare systems to define and improve weaknesses identified in a healthcare setting? What type of corporate-level, divisional-level, organizational-level, and unit-level strategies should be used to address a specified weakness such as a lack of healthcare professionals/ providers or the need to expand services?

Each response have to be 250 words as minimum. Be sure to support your statements with logic and argument, citing any sources referenced, recent sources not older than 7 years.