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An empirical investigation of the effectiveness of contemporary managerial philosophies in a hospital operational setting.

The new realities of the healthcare marketplace are forcing healthcare decision makers to implement innovative operational philosophies, techniques, and tools that were proven in other industries to enhance the effectiveness of their organization. This study examines the acceptance and effectiveness of these philosophies, techniques, and tools in a hospital operational setting. The impact of implementation on operational and strategic outcomes is examined for 108 hospitals. Overall, the results of this study appear to indicate that certain quality improvement philosophies, techniques, and tools have been successful when applied in a hospital operational setting.

Diffusion of Innovation↗

Patient-focused care and its role in hospital process re-engineering. Describes a programme of change implemented at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary.

Examines the concept of patient-focused care and how it fits into hospital process re-engineering. Describes the project undertaken at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, to implement patient-focused care and care pathway development in accident and emergency, and trauma and orthopaedics. Concludes with an insight into how care pathways have been used to improve hospital documentation, reduce duplication of information and provide a rich source of data for effective clinical audit.

Critical Pathways↗

A portfolio approach to management development: the Ashworth model.

Looks at management development at Ashworth Hospital as part of a continuing programme of professional development. This programme is innovative and revolutionary. It puts control of learning in the hands of the participants who are responsible for driving the programme and share the responsibility for supporting and motivating colleagues.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

Career management support for nurses.

The downsizing of many areas of the NHS is now affecting nurse education as it moves into the Further/Higher Education sector. Many staff are terminating their employment relationship through early retirement. Describes a career management workshop run for such staff and makes reflections on careers, especially of the objective and subjective kind.

Career Mobility↗

Training for organizational success.

Describes a major programme of change embarked on by Kingston Hospital NHS Trust, UK in 1992 to deliver care to its patients more effectively and efficiently. Reports on the training strategy which was required to facilitate this important organizational change and establish it as the new culture at Kingston Hospital.

Competency-Based Education↗

The challenge of education commissioning--Part 2: A more radical change?

Second in a series of articles looking at developments within the NHS. Looks at factors such as business process re-engineering and patient-focused care. Highlights the features of both and suggests that the latter is a healthcare variant of the former. Examines the educational implications of such developments, suggesting that they will present a major challenge in the next few years.

Education, Continuing↗

Successful implementation of process review in ophthalmology services.

Explains that considerable recent publicity has been given to the claim that around 70 per cent of business process re-engineering exercises are unsuccessful, mainly because of failure to take human factors into account. Outlines the work undertaken in a single specialist surgical service, within an acute services National Health Service Trust, and the outcomes achieved. Suggests that there are points arising from the project to be learned both by the Trust and by other health-care employers contemplating similar exercises: in particular, deciding objectives; the preparation undertaken prior to the project; and detailed post-implementation benefit analysis.

Hospital Restructuring↗

Using the business excellence model to effectively manage change within clinical support services.

This article describes the journey of managing the change from seven separate health providing units to one overall team providing a range of services. To facilitate the change the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award self-assessment model was used. The benefits and limitations of the model are described as are the activities undertaken to achieve a goal of delivering quality care within a customer driven rather than service driven focus. Finally the learning gained from the change is shared in an attempt to help others undertaking a similar journey.

Ancillary Services, Hospital↗

Downsizing in the public sector: Metro-Toronto's hospitals.

This study has two objectives. First, to predict the outcomes of a public sector downsizing; second to measure effects of downsizing at organizational and inter-organizational levels. Primary data to assess the organizational level effects was collected through interviews with senior executives at two of Metro-Toronto's hospitals. Secondary data, to assess the inter-organizational effects, was collected from government documents and media reports. Due to the exploratory nature of the study's objectives a case study method was employed. Most institutional downsizing practices aligned with successful outcomes. Procedures involved at the inter-organizational level aligned with unsuccessful outcomes and negated organizational initiatives. This resulted in an overall alignment with unsuccessful procedures. The implication, based on private sector downsizings, is that the post-downsized hospital system was more costly and less effective.

Health Services Research↗

Relaxation training methods for nurse managers in Hong Kong: a controlled study.

Nurse managers are under increased stress because of excessive workloads and hospitals' restructuring which is affecting their work tasks. High levels of stress could affect their mental health. Yet, few stress management training programmes are provided for this population. The purpose of this study was to apply stretch-release relaxation and cognitive relaxation training to enhance the mental health for nurse managers. A total of 65 nurse managers in Hong Kong were randomly assigned to stretch-release relaxation (n = 17), cognitive relaxation (n = 18), and a test control group (n = 35). Mental health status was assessed using the Chinese version of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Chinese version of the General Health Questionnaire. Participants were assessed at the pretreatment session, the fourth posttreatment session, and at the 1-month follow-up session. The results revealed both the stretch-release and cognitive relaxation training enhanced mental health in nurse managers in Hong Kong. The application of relaxation training in enhancing mental health status for nurses and health professionals is discussed.

Adult↗

Closing of a psychiatric intensive care unit: a manifestation of lost values.

TOPIC: A psychiatric intensive care unit shown to be of value to patients and staff was closed within a year, ostensibly for economic reasons. PURPOSE: To examine the usefulness of psychiatric intensive care units, and the importance of thinking through the ramifications of downsizing SOURCE: A case study of a psychiatric ICU in Northern Ontario, Canada and a review of the literature. CONCLUSIONS: When downsizing is considered, a careful examination of values must take place, remembering patient care comes first.

Cost Control↗

A prognosis for the rural hospital: Part II: Are rural hospitals economically viable?

This is the second of a two part series that summarizes what is known about the operation and performance of the rural hospital and discusses potential options and strategies for strengthening the viability of these institutions. In Part II, we focus on the economic viability of the rural hospital and examine external factors that influence the environment within which the rural hospital operates. We conclude that the future will remain precarious for rural hospitals and that they can hope to improve their economic viability only if they are able to determine where they fit as part of the large health care system.

Bed Conversion↗

America's rural hospitals: a selective review of 1980s research.

We review 1980s research on American rural hospitals within the context of a decade of increasing restrictiveness in the reimbursement and operating environments. Areas addressed include rural hospital definitions, organizational and financial performance, and strategic management activities. The latter category consists of hospital closure, diversification and vertical integration, swing-bed conversion, sole community provider designation, horizontal integration and multihospital system affiliation, marketing, and patient retention. The review suggests several research needs, including: developing more meaningful definitions of rural hospitals, engaging in methodologically sound work on the effects of innovative programs and strategic management activities--including conversion of the facility itself--on rural hospital performance, and completing studies of the effects of rural hospital closure or conversion on the health of the communities served.

Financial Management, Hospital↗

Hospital-sponsored rural health clinics: an effective diversification alternative for rural hospitals.

Changes in rural health care are resulting in new challenges for the administrators of rural hospitals. The lack of available care, economic deterioration, and demographic changes in rural America are contributing factors to rural health care problems and are detrimental to the financial well-being of rural hospitals. Diversification is becoming commonplace in these hospitals as administrators seek strategies to gain financial viability for their facilities. The concept of hospital-sponsored rural health clinics is more than a decade old, yet there are fewer than 30 such clinics nationwide. Reasons for the underutilization of such clinics may include the lack of knowledge that such clinics exist as well as inadequate information describing the establishment, operation, and financial feasibility of the clinics. The hospital-sponsored rural health clinic "concept" will be introduced, including potential benefits of such clinics to both the hospital and the communities they serve, factors to be considered in developing such a system, and problems that may arise in this development. This article presents a case study of how one rural hospital incorporated such clinics into its long-range plans.

Community Health Centers↗

Our Community Hospital: the evolution of a rural primary care hospital.

In the next few years, Our Community Hospital, located in the small town of Scotland Neck, NC, will undergo a conversion through which it may serve as an appropriate model for similar small hospitals in distressed rural communities. With technical and grant assistance from the Office of Rural Health and Resource Development of the North Carolina Department of Human Resources, the hospital has begun to phase out almost all acute care services and will expand and strengthen its focus on primary care, emergency medical services, and services for elderly persons. This paper addresses four issues of greatest concern to hospital administrators, rural health professionals, academics, and rural residents interested in hospital conversions: (1) community involvement during the planning process; (2) the evolution of the program's structure; (3) financing for the project; and (4) the development of cooperation between state and federal governments, foundations, and private groups. This case study describes one possible course in addressing an acute health care problem facing rural America--the viability of rural hospitals.

Aged↗

Horizontal and vertical integration-diversification in rural hospitals: a national study of strategic activity, 1983-1988.

This study examines both the magnitude of and factors influencing the adoption of 13 horizontal and vertical integration and diversification strategies in a national sample of 797 U.S. rural hospitals during the period 1983-1988. Using organization theory, hypotheses were posed relating environmental and market factors, geographic location, and hospital characteristics to the adoption of horizontal and vertical integration and diversification. Results indicate that only one of 13 strategies was adopted by more than 50 percent of all rural hospitals during the study period, and that most of the directional hypotheses were not confirmed using Cox's proportional hazards models. In particular, environmental and market factors were unrelated to the strategies studied. Issues of methodology and theory are discussed; however, during an historically turbulent period, both relatively low levels of rural hospital strategic activities and lack of predictive power of the theory suggest caution in relying heavily on a policy for rural hospital survival that is dependent on individual market-oriented strategic behavior.

Chi-Square Distribution↗

Lessons from the Essential Access Community Hospital Program for rural health network development.

The Essential Access Community Hospital (EACH) Program is testing a concept for limited-service hospitals established under Medicare called the Rural Primary Care Hospital (RPCH). The program uses cost-based reimbursement and relaxed regulatory requirements to help low-volume rural hospitals shift emphasis from acute care to primary care and emergency services. RPCHs must form "horizontal" networks with larger hospitals and may form "vertical" arrangements with ambulatory service providers and practitioners. A small number of rural hospitals have converted to the RPCH status since the program entered the implementation stage in late 1993. It is unclear how many other hospitals will convert given uncertainty regarding the financial impact of RPCH conversion and concerns with certain requirements. The program illustrates how payment policies can provide incentives for network development and reflects the importance of physician involvement and technical assistance in developing limited-service hospitals. In addition, it appears that EACH/RPCH networks that form under the program may serve as building blocks for broader networks, as the seven states involved in the program look to develop rural health networks that go beyond the EACH/RPCH model.

Comprehensive Health Care↗

Conditions affecting rural hospital specialization, conversion, and closure: a case-based analysis of threat and change.

The purpose of this analysis is to increase understanding of how and why rural hospitals change, with an eye toward the relevance of these questions to overall access and quality in the rural community. This study reports the threats that precipitated three major classes of organizational change (specialization, conversion, and closure) in 16 rural hospital cases. The authors identify the types and levels of threat faced by the case hospitals and examine how different threat situations may lead toward different classes of change. Conversions and closures typically seem to result from moderate- or high-threat situations. Specializations seem to result from low- or moderate-threat situations.

Decision Making, Organizational↗