ABSTRACT
This chapter establishes a vision and mission focused on meeting the health care needs of defined groups of consumers. A mission statement summarizes what physicians are expected to do over the long term, while a vision statement outlines their hopes and dreams for the future of the medical practice. The chapter defines core values upon which to base the delivery of medical services and appraises the environment in one's marketplace by defining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOTs). It applies the processes for CQI to monitor performance and manage necessary enhancements to optimize desired outcomes. In order to provide a complete picture of the organization's future direction, and given the competitive nature of health care, strategic thinking becomes a principle upon which plans are developed. Continuous quality improvement is applied to measure system-wide performance against targeted goals and objectives. Core values outline the medical group's expectations for each individual within the organization.
