Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapter 6 in the textbook as well as the Week 3 instructor guidance. In addition, read the following articles:

• Predicting Hospital Closure Using Popular Financial Indicators: An Exploratory Study of Muhlenberg Hospital (Links to an external site.)
• Financial Risk Assessment in Healthcare Organizations (Links to an external site.)

As addressed in Chapter 6 of our course textbook, there are six primary risk factors to health care organizations that must be addressed in audit reports. Below is the risk factor you are assigned to complete in your initial post:

Potential pandemics or other natural disasters

First letter of last name: A, G, M, S

Indebtedness and potential impact if there is an economic downturn

First letter of last name: B, H, N, U

Risks related to government regulation and other legal matters

First letter of last name: C, I, O, T

Risks related to human capital, especially staffing shortages and labor union activity

First letter of last name: D, J, P, V

Risks related to technology, data privacy, and cybersecurity

First letter of last name: E, K, Q, W, X

Risks related to operations, strategy, demand, and competition

First letter of last name: F, L, R, Y, Z

In your initial post, address the following:

• Explain the financial implications of the assigned topic to health care organizations.
• Discuss at least two strategies that will minimize financial threats to health care organizations related to your assigned topic.

Your initial post must be at least 250 words and use a minimum of two credible sources to support your discussion content. The supporting resources can be your textbook as well as the required or recommended resources provided in this course, the University of Arizona Global Campus Library, or credible websites.

The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. All referenced materials must include citations and references in APA format. Please see directions for including APA Style elements on these Writing Center pages: APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) and APA: Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.).

Guided Response: Due by Day 7. Respond to at least two of your peers by the end of Day 7. In your response to peers, discuss one strategy not already addressed in your peer’s post that a health care organization could use to minimize the threat they covered.