PUBLIC HEALTHCARE CRISIS IMPACTS AND MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Public healthcare crises are unique and inhomogeneous in nature, etiology and typology. They can affect all aspects of systems, organizations and have a profound and lasting impact on individuals, stakeholders, and general society. Crises in public healthcare system, and in any other area, can affect image, trust, financial stability, management decisions, the physical and emotional well-being of employees and other stakeholders. Public healthcare crises can have negative consequences for any system due to reduced revenues, loss of labour, loss of reputation, even due to causing emotional stress at employees or audiences. The impacts are multifaceted, as are the crises themselves, and can be categorized into managerial, communication, technological and external. Crises that have been the subject of timely identification, good governance and appropriate action for lessons learned and future prevention can have a positive impact on organizations and their stakeholders. This creates successful models, improves the organizational image and they become catalysts for change in entire sectors. Crisis management is a system of organizational efforts to prevent, respond to and learn from crises with three main components - proactive, reactive, and learning. Prevention is the proactive component that deals with reducing the likelihood of emerging of a new or the same crisis. The reactive component is related to the rapid management and recovery after going through crisis situations, and the learning component includes the process of continuous learning from all other phases of the crisis management process. To manage a crisis quickly and effectively, we seek to develop comprehensive crisis plans that anticipate and envisage the worst-case scenarios. A comprehensive crisis management plan is imperative to provide streamlined guidelines for timely and effective interaction with the media and the public through marketing communication methods. The need for a systematic marketing approach to public health crisis management is justified by the fact that disasters, accidents, and incidents have been on the rise in recent years, and that investment in crisis preparedness can be justified by prevented human and financial losses, fatalities, and damaged trust. A strong marketing response through integrated marketing communications can stem the tide of public discontent during crisis situations and shorten the long-term post-crisis recovery phase. Crises that have been the subject of timely identification, proper management and appropriate marketing actions for lessons learned and future prevention can have a positive impact on organizations and their stakeholders. In this way, successful models are created, the organizational image is improved, and they become catalysts for change in entire sectors.