Development and implementation of a strategic-planning process at a university hospital

The development and implementation of a long-range strategic plan for the pharmacy department at a university hospital is described. Because of rapidly occurring changes in health-care delivery, financing, and education, the pharmacy department at the University of Illinois Hospitals decided to create a strategic plan that would stimulate growth, be responsive to a changing health-care environment, and emphasize the department's philosophy of striving for professional leadership in education, research, and innovation. Actual strategy development was done during a three-day administrative retreat, which was conducted according to a structured agenda that facilitated extensive brainstorming and discussion. As a result, the department developed eight major strategies that have been directing its growth and development over the last four years. Each strategy had an implementation plan that included substrategies with statements of specific results that were expected, an action plan (a list of specific tasks to be accomplished), and a general statement summarizing the benefits of each substrategy. Annual meetings were held to review the continued appropriateness of these strategies. Implementation of the strategic plan has resulted in major improvements in drug cost containment, improved ambulatory-care pharmaceutical services, a results-oriented performance-appraisal system, more support for clinical education programs, and a substantial increase in support for research. The strategic plan has allowed the department to constructively participate in two downsizing events within the hospital without major adverse effects on its own services and programs. Use of the strategic-planning process should be considered by other hospital pharmacy departments as a means of responding to the external and internal forces of change that currently affect most hospitals.