The Department of Veterans Affairs is a complex organization that encompasses the Veterans Health Administration. The Veterans Health Administration encompasses over 1,700 sites of care throughout the U.S. and its territories (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). These sites of care include clinics and hospitals. Tennessee Valley Healthcare System is a Veterans Health Administration healthcare system for middle Tennessee and surrounding outlying areas. The clinics and hospitals within the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System are served by numerous supporting services including nursing, human resources, medical service, and business services. There are various inefficiencies between the services that affect overall organizational efficiency.
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Nassar (2007) describes knowledge management as an interconnected process that helps to determine the most appropriate human capital application in relation to facilities, systems, and other important business needs. Instituting better knowledge management practices would likely help address many of the various issues involved in the fractured nature of healthcare, particularly in a complex organization such as the VA. Nassar (2007) also points out the great importance that service industries, such as healthcare, need to place on knowledge management techniques in order to be as efficient as possible. The fact that healthcare itself is a service that requires professional individuals with unique and specialized skill sets also points to the importance of knowledge management in any healthcare organization. The U.S. currently spends a great deal on healthcare costs, so any increased efficiencies that can be achieved have an impact on the economic growth of the country as a whole. These cost control and efficiency measures will be increasingly important as current population trends dictate a looming shortage of providers at the same time as increasing care needs. The aging Baby Boomer generation is beginning to enter the 65+ age group, and this age group is expected to continue to grow in number at a disproportional rate compared to other age categories in the coming decades (Colby & Ortman, 2015). The VA is competing for the same providers as the private sector, so we must be sure to use improved knowledge management in order to ensure that we are able to recruit these providers and have them practice at the highest level
Nassar (2007) describes knowledge management as an interconnected process that helps to determine the most appropriate human capital application in relation to facilities, systems, and other important business needs. Instituting better knowledge management practices would likely help address many of the various issues involved in the fractured nature of healthcare, particularly in a complex organization such as the VA. Nassar (2007) also points out the great importance that service industries, such as healthcare, need to place on knowledge management techniques in order to be as efficient as possible. The fact that healthcare itself is a service that requires professional individuals with unique and specialized skill sets also points to the importance of knowledge management in any healthcare organization. The U.S. currently spends a great deal on healthcare costs, so any increased efficiencies that can be achieved have an impact on the economic growth of the country as a whole. These cost control and efficiency measures will be increasingly important as current population trends dictate a looming shortage of providers at the same time as increasing care needs. The aging Baby Boomer generation is beginning to enter the 65+ age group, and this age group is expected to continue to grow in number at a disproportional rate compared to other age categories in the coming decades (Colby & Ortman, 2015). The VA is competing for the same providers as the private sector, so we must be sure to use improved knowledge management in order to ensure that we are able to recruit these providers and have them practice at the highest level