Interhealth Canada

The necessity for cultural sensitivity was made abundantly clear with the recent Ebola outbreak, which provided healthcare providers with unique cultural challenges. Organizations like InterHealth Canada learn from those types of experiences and fold that knowledge into their projects.

The organization’s website highlights the mission statement, with growth and the learning aspects of globalization garnering attention, but also including the collaboration and the use of employee talent to enhance their operations.

Healthcare Related Services Provided By InterHealth Canada

The organization focuses on delivering quality healthcare management services, but also addresses the importance of investment returns. InterHealth Canada partners with a wide variety of academic institutions, large hospital systems, and private healthcare providers. The depth of experience and insight allows InterHealth Canada to design and implement well-balanced projects that are sensitive to both end users and investors.

The services provided encompass a project’s needs, from inception to accreditation. They include:

• • Feasibility
  Beginning with a feasibility study, the organization then analyzes the market, competitors, total market demand, how compatible services are with the demographics’ needs, availability of human resources, financial statistics, and whether or not the project will provide a return on investment.
• • Planning
  The overall plan must have the ability to provide the needed services. The planning phase includes, but is not limited to, space allocation, equipment, asset inventory, training, and supply chain analysis.
• • Commissioning
  This phase includes equipment acquisition and staff deployment, clinical education, process development, establishing financial constraints, testing of facility equipment, and developing a performance framework.
• • Operation
  For a true turnkey project, management systems must be in place. This phase of projects includes all aspects of project management, including supply chain organization, facilities management, establishing performance indicators, quality assurance, and risk management. Exact parameters are established to meet specific project requirements.
• • Accreditation
  Top accreditation is the defining phase, when the entire project is awarded a status based on the quality of the facility and the care actually delivered to patients.
• • Transformation
  The final service emphasizes the ongoing need for process improvement. Clinical improvement, technology enhancement, information management, and the incorporation of medical innovations are all integrated to ensure optimal care results for end users. Profitability, at this point, is also evaluated and enhanced to provide a maximum return for investors.

Of course, project needs vary, suggesting InterHealth must be flexible and willing to evolve and change as new needs dictate different approaches. Here again, cultural sensitivity is a key component of the projects, and services are tailored to meet unique local needs.

The Crucial Role of Technology?

The simple fact that technology is included in the transformation phase of project development is a solid indicator of how vital technology has become in the healthcare industry.

InterHealth Canada obviously recognizes the utilization of technology resources are critical for day-to-day operations, as statistical analysis is crucial for evaluating key management functions, especially supply chain improvement, risk management, and quality assurance. The trend toward using digital health records as a tool for maximizing patient outcomes is another example of how technology fuels healthcare changes.

What Does the Future Hold for InterHealth Canada?

Even though economic uncertainty in some regions has placed some projects on hold, the demand for quality healthcare around the world is exploding. That suggests InterHealth Canada’s proven track record will position it to take advantage of that demand. In addition, there is every chance the projects on hold will be back on track once economic conditions in those areas improve.

The assumption can also be made that, even if the requirements for healthcare delivery evolve, the organization will be capable of adapting to those changes. CEO George Commander, along with a solid, well-balanced management team, have the background and expertise needed to identify evolving trends and use them to the organization’s advantage.

The organization will continue to look for areas where InterHealth Canada’s business model will be valued. Latin America, for example, is still in dire need of healthcare services, and the InterHealth Canada team will be looking for potential ventures there as well as in other regions.