Health Planning

Introduction

Health planning has changed rapidly over the recent past. There are several significant differences between the current aspects of health planning and the aspects of planning in the past. The modern framework for healthcare planning is based on several planning aspects which include; medical planning, resource capacity planning, materials planning, and financial planning. Medical planning entails research development of medical protocols, treatment selection, diagnosis and planning of an individual treatment and planning for diagnosing emergencies (“OUP accepted manuscript,” 2017, Mirzoev & Green, 2017, and Murphy, Franz, Choi, & Callaghan, 2017). On the other hand, the aspects of older traditional health planning include disease control, illness prevention, accident prevention, and safety among others (Bailey, Thompson, & International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 1975 p85, World Health Organization & Expert Committee on Environmental health aspects of metropolitan planning and development, 1965 and Institute of Medicine (U.S.), 1988).

In modern health planning, resource and capacity planning include; workforce planning, admission planning, workforce scheduling among others. Materials planning include supply chain and warehouse design, supply selection and tendering, material purchasing among others. Financial planning includes; investment plans, budget plans, cash flow analysis among others.

Comprehensive health planning according to APHA entails balancing of health resources and health needs (American Public Health Association, 2000 and Murphy, Franz, Choi, & Callaghan, 2017). The process of health planning is based on three main aspects. These aspects are program planning or agency administrative, comprehensive planning and interagency categorical planning.

Other aspects traditional/older of health planning include; analysis of the situation, list of goals and objectives, assessment of resources, fixed priorities, monitoring and evaluation as well as programming and implementation World Health Organization & Expert Committee on Environmental health aspects of metropolitan planning and development, 1965).

Under the analysis of the situation, the aspects being studied include; morbidity and mortality values, population-age and sex structure, geographic and epidemiology of the disease under consideration (National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.), National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.), & Center for Mental Health Services (U.S.), National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.), 1983). The other aspects include; facilities for training healthcare staff, and technical manpower.

Monitoring and evaluation assesses standards of operations, program objectives, and it measures the efficiency and accomplishments by which the missions of the agency are accomplished. Interagency planning plans and prepares programs for developmental objectives (Bailey, Thompson, & International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 1975, Evensky, 1990, and World Health Organization & Expert Committee on Environmental health aspects of metropolitan planning and development, 1965). Comprehensive planning entails the assessment of emerging and current personal and environmental health resources, needs, and developmental objectives.