We have often advocated here needs to have good managers, to have professional managers in our hospitals and health centers ... but never thought I would have this discussion in English.
The reason is this article in the health section of The New York Times: Should Hospitals Be Run by Doctors?
The conventional wisdom is that doctors should focus on patient care, and managers with a business or administrative background are better suited to running the day-to-day operations of a hospital. Among the nearly 6,500 hospitals in the United States, only 235 are run by physician administrators, according to a 2009 study in the journal Academic Medicine.But now new research suggests that having a doctor in charge at the top is connected to overall better patient care and a better hospital. The study found that overall hospital quality scores were about 25 percent higher when doctors ran the hospital, compared with other hospitals. For cancer care, doctor-run hospitals posted scores 33 percent higher.
The thing is clear, though I would go further. Here we have never discussed whether hospitals should be run by medical doctors or business managers...
Here in SobreviviRRHHé! we do not want politicians to lead us without adequate preparation for managing a hospital or health center.
Here in Spain we can find too many doctors, even nurses, leading Hospitals and Primary Care centers.
ResponderEliminarHealthcare management (HCM) have become a special discipline that combine bussines and clinical background.
Most of experts in it come from healthcare careers, usually showing management abilities acquired by postgraduate programs.
While healthcare crew discuss about how many positions are leaded by nurses or doctors, nobody talks about the interesting topic offered by Iñaki.
However, I say: "Don´t tell me who you are. Tell me how are you going to do it, and prove you can."
Nice weekend!
(Los comentarios también eran en inglés, no?)
I understand that Saturday is a bad day to get into debates so deep, and less in this heat, so I thank you left your comment, and above in English.
ResponderEliminarThe problem is not that we are doctors, nurses or economists, but we are well prepared to manage.
That's the question.