Self management or managerial autonomy. SESPAS report, 2012

Western countries with strong primary care systems organize their health services around this healthcare modality, which serves as a gateway to the system and is characterized by multidisciplinary teamwork, management transferred to the teams and a broad services portfolio. The contractual relationship between professionals and the public health system is a useful tool to modulate the efficiency of services and their ability to meet the expectations of citizens and professionals. Some countries choose to contract professionals directly, either individually or through a professional organization, an option known as a self-management system. Others opt to contract public or private entities, which in turn recruit health professionals as employees. In the latter countries, the concept of management decentralization and managerial autonomy has arisen. In Spain, only Catalonia has enabled professional entities to be hired to provide public health services, through commercial formulas, i.e. in a competitive market relationship. This relationship allows the use of corporate governance mechanisms that are not subject to public control through state intervention. The other forms of management promoted in Spain to avoid the controls of state intervention - foundations or associations - have been unsuccessful, except in the autonomous region of Valencia and some models in the autonomous region of Madrid.     

¿Autogestión o autonomía de gestión? Informe SESPAS 2012

Western countries with strong primary care systems organize their health services around this healthcare modality, which serves as a gateway to the system and is characterized by multidisciplinary teamwork, management transferred to the teams and a broad services portfolio. The contractual relationship between professionals and the public health system is a useful tool to modulate the efficiency of services and their ability to meet the expectations of citizens and professionals. Some countries choose to contract professionals directly, either individually or through a professional organization, an option known as a self-management system. Others opt to contract public or private entities, which in turn recruit health professionals as employees.In the latter countries, the concept of management decentralization and managerial autonomy has arisen. In Spain, only Catalonia has enabled professional entities to be hired to provide public health services, through commercial formulas, i.e. in a competitive market relationship. This relationship allows the use of corporate governance mechanisms that are not subject to public control through state intervention. The other forms of management promoted in Spain to avoid the controls of state intervention - foundations or associations - have been unsuccessful, except in the autonomous region of Valencia and some models in the autonomous region of Madrid.     

Preparing for the introduction of hospital autonomy in Laos: an assessment of current situation and suggestions for policy‐making

The National Assembly of Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) approved the Health Sector Reform Strategy in 2012, which called for an assessment as to whether Laos should introduce hospital autonomy, and if so, in which ways. The purpose of this study is to assess the status quo of hospital governance in Laos and propose policy suggestions for hospital autonomy in the country. We formulated an analytic framework for hospital autonomy based on previous work by other researchers, collected qualitative data through key informant interviews and focus group discussions, and also performed secondary data analysis. Public hospitals in Laos enjoyed some informal autonomy with little accountability and Laos is facing key challenges of hospital governance. As a result, introducing hospital autonomy in Laos could bring risks, benefits and debates. Before Laos decides on granting autonomy to its public hospitals, we strongly suggest that the government do pilot in selected public hospitals with well‐regulated governance framework first and conduct rigorous evaluations to examine whether the granted autonomy leads to the intended social goals of equity, quality, efficiency and sustainability. We recommend residual claimants should be monitored by the government and by the society with open and transparent approach, and active measures should be taken to improve performance and ensure social functions. The study findings may also provide some suggestions for low‐ and middle‐income countries, which are contemplating the introduction of hospital autonomy in the public sector. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hospital development plans

Tanzanian hospitals suffer from underfunding and poor management. In particular, planning and strategic thinking need improvement. Cultural values such as subordination, risk aversion, and high time preference, together with a long history of socialist government, result in lack of responsibility, accountability, and planning. This has been addressed by the health sector reform with its focus on decentralization, strengthened by the introduction of basket funding facilitated by the Comprehensive Council Health Plans. As a consequence of this the next logical step is to improve the authority of regional and district hospitals in the use of their resources by introducing hospital development plans. These strategic plans were introduced as tools of strategic planning in 2001 by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau in close collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, binding the release of rehabilitation funds to presentation of a strategic hospital plan. This study examines the rationale and content of hospital development plans. Initial experiences are discussed. The quality of presented plans has steadily improved, but there is a tendency for hospitals with a close connection to development partners to present well prepared reports while other hospitals have severe problems fulfilling the requirements. For many hospitals it is in fact the first time that they have had to define their functions and future role, thus breaking ground for strategic thinking.     

公立医院治理公法人化刍议

公立医院公法人是一项重要的组织手段与法律制度,其目的在于通过法人的身份独立与行为自主,实现公立医院的自治与绩效,使公立医院由官僚化的单位治理模式向自主化的法人治理模式演变;使公立医院在以法人化的方式应对行政科层制的弊端的同时,须强化对公立医院的监督,实现公益性。介绍了公立医院事业法人的弊端、公立医院治理公法人化的时代背景及意义,构建了我国公立医院公法人化的基本框架。     

From corporate governance to hospital governance. Authority, transparency and accountability of Belgian non-profit hospitals' board and management

As a result of multiple developments in health care and health care policy, hospital administrators, policy makers and researchers are increasingly challenged to reflect on the meaning of good hospital governance and how they can implement it in the hospital organisations. The question arises whether and to what extent governance models that have been developed within the corporate world can be valuable for these reflections. Due to the unique societal position of hospitals--which involves a large diversity of stakeholders--the claim for autonomy of various highly professional groups and the lack of clear business objectives, principles of corporate governance cannot be translated into the hospital sector without specific adjustments. However, irrespective of these contextual differences, corporate governance can provide for a comprehensive 'frame of reference', to which the hospital sector will have to give its own interpretation. A multidisciplinary research unit of the university of Leuven has taken the initiative to develop a governance model for Belgian hospitals. As part of the preliminary research work a survey has been performed among 82 hospitals of the Flemish Community on their governance structure, the composition of the governance entities, the partition of competencies and the relationship between management and medical staff.     

Hospital management in the context of health sector reform: a planning model in Ethiopia

Through health sector reform in developing countries, Ministries of Health have sought to enhance health care through greater community governance and improved management effectiveness in their public hospitals. In this paper, we present a partnership-mentoring model for enhancing management capacity that has been piloted in Ethiopia and may be useful in other developing countries. The model included needs assessment and baseline evaluation using a hospital management indicator checklist, deployment of 24 Fellows (US and international hospital administrators) for 1 year to work as mentors with hospital management teams in 14 Ethiopian hospitals, continuing didactic and practical training in quality improvement methods for hospital management teams, and 24 management improvement projects to be completed during the year with plans for replication more broadly as appropriate. Surveys of Fellows and Ethiopian managers within the first quarter of onsite activity found high levels of trust in one another's abilities and intent to implement changes. The partnership-mentoring model promotes sustainability and may provide other countries with approaches for improving the quality of hospital care through improved hospital management. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The WAMI Rural Hospital Project. Part 3: Building health care leadership in rural communities.

The WAMI Rural Hospital Project (RHP) intervention combined aspects of community development, strategic planning and organizational development to address the leadership issues in six Northwest rural hospitals. Hospitals and physicians, other community health care providers and local townspeople were involved in this intervention, which was accomplished in three phases. In the first phase, extensive information about organizational effectiveness was collected at each site. Phase two consisted of 30 hours of education for the physician, board, and hospital administrator community representatives covering management, hospital board governance, and scope of service planning. In the third phase, each community worked with a facilitator to complete a strategic plan and to resolve conflicts addressed in the management analyses. The results of the evaluation demonstrated that the greatest change noted among RHP hospitals was improvement in the effectiveness of their governing boards. All boards adopted some or all of the project's model governance plan and had successfully completed considerable portions of their strategic plans by 1989. Teamwork among the management triad (hospital, board, and medical staff) was also substantially improved. Other improvements included the development of marketing plans for the three hospitals that did not initially have them and more effective use of outside consultants. The project had less impact on improving the functioning of the medical chief of staff, although this was not a primary target of the intervention. There was also relatively less community interest in joining regional health care associations. The authors conclude that an intervention program tailored to address specific community needs and clearly identified leadership deficiencies can have a positive effect on rural health care systems.     

基于博弈论的托管医院理事会治理机制探讨

公立医院托管是调整优质医疗资源布局发展的重要手段,托管医院理事会治理机制设计就是作为委托人的政府和受托医院的责权界定这样一个博弈的过程。本文基于完全信息静态博弈的假设,以中国中医科学院广安门医院南区托管作为研究样本,通过建立博弈模型及求解,探索用博弈论的方法分析托管医院建立理事会治理机制改革的实践,为研究托管医院治理机制改革提供一种新的借鉴。     

Corporate and philanthropic models of hospital governance: a taxonomic evaluation.

OBJECTIVE. We assess the theoretical integrity and practical utility of the corporate-philanthropic governance typology frequently invoked in debates about the appropriate form of governance for nonprofit hospitals operating in increasingly competitive health care environments. DATA SOURCES. Data were obtained from a 1985 national mailed survey of nonprofit hospitals conducted by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Hospital Research and Educational Trust (HRET). STUDY DESIGN. A sample 1,577 nonprofit community hospitals were selected for study. Representativeness was assessed by comparing the sample with the population of non-profit community hospitals on the dimensions of bed size, ownership type, urban-rural location, multihospital system membership, and census region. DATA COLLECTION. Measurement of governance types was based on hospital governance attributes conforming to those cited in the literature as distinguishing corporate from philanthropic models and classified into six central dimensions of governance: (1) size, (2) committee structure and activity, (3) board member selection, (4) board composition, (5) CEO power and influence, and (6) bylaws and activities. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. Cluster analysis and ANCOVA indicated that hospital board forms adhered only partially to corporate and philanthropic governance models. Further, board forms varied systematically by specific organizational and environmental conditions. Boards exhibiting more corporate governance forms were more likely to be large, privately owned, urban, and operating in competitive markets than were hospitals showing more philanthropic governance forms. CONCLUSIONS. Findings suggest that the corporate-philanthropic governance distinction must be seen as an ideal rather than an actual depiction of hospital governance forms. Implications for health care governance are discussed.     

公立医院法人治理结构改革初探——以北京市门头沟区医院为例

目的：分析公立医院引入民营化管理对改善公立医院法人治理结构和绩效变化情况,并提出相关政策建议。方法：采用案例研究方法,通过焦点组访谈、个人深度访谈、问卷调查等,分析北京市门头沟区医院改革的做法与效果。结果：门头沟区医院2010年引入社会资本后法人治理结构得以优化,主要包括：建立医院法人治理结构,建立政府、监事会、第三方评估的多元监管体系和医院绩效考核指标体系,实施医院内部综合绩效考核制度,建立多元化投入机制等。结论与建议：改革后,医院在决策权、市场准入程度、问责机制、剩余索取权、社会功能等方面均发生改变,取得了初步效益,但也面临着一定的体制约束。公立医院治理机制改革需要创造良好的外部政策环境,进一步优化内部管理机制与考核制度,并注意在引入社会资本过程中保证提供服务的公益性。     

对清远,泰安两所医院改革经验的思考

通过对广东省清远市人民医院和山东省泰安市中心医院的调查研究,总结了两所医院改革和发展过程中共有的特点,从领导体制、发展资金、经济管理、质量管理五个方面概括了两所医院深化改革的主要做法,阐述了两所医院院长的经营观、效益观和价值观。指出:医院深化改革的关键,是实行并完善院长负责制,进一步扩大经营管理自主权。     

Hospital quality management system in a low income Arabic country: an evaluation

PURPOSE: The paper seeks to present findings from an evaluation of a quality management system implemented in a low-income country hospital. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This is a single-case before and after evaluation. FINDINGS: The quality system, although only 70 per cent implemented, resulted in increasing compliance with a few selected standards and produced modest improvements in patient satisfaction and utilisation. Hospital doctors and managers wanted to continue to develop the system and described conditions they thought important to spread to other hospitals. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: No objective, clinical outcomes data were gathered, and the short timescale meant that the system was not fully implemented at the time of the evaluation. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: It is possible to improve patient care in rural hospitals with a few extra resources, in a culture not familiar with management processes, and to engage otherwise poorly motivated doctors in systematic improvement. However, certain conditions are necessary for introducing, sustaining and spreading quality improvement programmes. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study and report is one of the first, detailed and systematic evaluations of a hospital quality management system in a highly resourced constrained situation in an Arabic country, which has implications for improving health care in other developing countries.     

深圳市公立医院法人治理改革探索

分析了目前公立医院体制机制方面存在的问题,按照"政事分开、管办分开、医药分开、营利性与非营利性分开"的改革原则,制定了公立医院法人治理改革实施路径.一是建立公立医院管理委员会,统筹政府办医保障职能;建立公立医院管理机构,提高举办医院的行政管理水平;转变卫生行政部门职能,形成多元化办医格局.二是建立分级决策机制、自主经营制度及多元监管制度,解决政事分开问题.三是研究制定公立医院章程,促进公立医院向法定机构转变,通过法制化巩固法人治理改革成果.

Abstract：

Analysis of setbacks found in the existing system and mechanism of public hospitals. Based on the health reform principles of "Separation of administration and management, Separation of administration and operation, Separation of prescribing and dispensing, and Separation of for-profit hospitals and nonprofit hospitals", the authors named the following roadmap for public hospital governance reform. First, set up a management committee for each public hospital to coordinate the government function for medical service; set up a public hospital authority to upgrade the management level of these hospitals; transform functionality of health authorities to encourage diversity in medical service providers. Second, establish the tiered decision making mechanism, autonomous operation system and diversified supervision system, to separate administration and management. Third, formulate articles of association for hospitals to encourage their evolution to legal entities, consolidating the government reforms by legal means.     

Incorporation of public hospitals: a "silver bullet" against overcapacity, managerial bottlenecks and resource constraints? Case studies from Austria and Estonia

This paper presents a new approach for incorporating public hospitals by contrasting the experience from an "old" EU country (Austria) with a new EU member state (Estonia). In the EU (including the new member states) hospital overcapacity is a serious problem, from a technical, fiscal and political perspective. Few countries have succeeded in establishing an appropriate framework for resource management and for guaranteeing long-term financial viability of their hospital network. Many countries are in search of effective policies for improved hospital management and more cost-effective resource use in the health sector. Over the past decade, experiences in Austria and Estonia have emerged as innovative examples which may provide lessons for other EU countries and beyond. This paper describes the evolution of public hospitals from public budgetary units and public management to incorporated autonomous organizations under private corporate law, resulting in a contractual relationship between (public) owners and private hospital management. Outdated and inefficient public sector structures were replaced by more agile corporate management. The arrangement allows for investments, operating costs and budgeting according to strategic business goals as opposed to political "fiat". Shielding hospitals from local political influence is an important aspect of this concept. Horizontal integration through networking of public hospitals and introducing private management helps create a new corporate culture, allowing for more flexibility to achieve efficiencies through downsizing and economies of scale. Based on contracts the new balance between ownership and managerial functions create strong incentives for a more business-like, results-oriented and consumer-friendly management. This was achieved both in Austria and Estonia in a politically sensitive way, adopting a long-term vision and by protecting the interests of hospital owners and staff.     

Hospital development plans: a new tool to break ground for strategic thinking in Tanzanian hospitals.

Tanzanian hospitals suffer from underfunding and poor management. In particular, planning and strategic thinking need improvement. Cultural values such as subordination, risk aversion, and high time preference, together with a long history of socialist government, result in lack of responsibility, accountability, and planning. This has been addressed by the health sector reform with its focus on decentralization, strengthened by the introduction of basket funding facilitated by the Comprehensive Council Health Plans. As a consequence of this the next logical step is to improve the authority of regional and district hospitals in the use of their resources by introducing hospital development plans. These strategic plans were introduced as tools of strategic planning in 2001 by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau in close collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, binding the release of rehabilitation funds to presentation of a strategic hospital plan. This study examines the rationale and content of hospital development plans. Initial experiences are discussed. The quality of presented plans has steadily improved, but there is a tendency for hospitals with a close connection to development partners to present well prepared reports while other hospitals have severe problems fulfilling the requirements. For many hospitals it is in fact the first time that they have had to define their functions and future role, thus breaking ground for strategic thinking.     

乡镇卫生院被托管后的人力资源管理创新研究

济宁市第一人民医院托管济宁高新区所属的3所乡镇卫生院已近3年时间,托管后的乡镇卫生院管理体制、运行机制发生重大变革,对人力资源管理产生巨大冲击。小医院的人力资源管理,并不是大医院制度的简单复制,而是将国家医改方针政策与乡镇卫生院实际相结合,因地制宜,稳妥、有序地推进人事制度改革,探索并建立吸引、稳定和培养人才的工作机制。其主要做法是：在人事制度方面引入竞争机制;在分配制度方面引入激励机制;在人才培养方面引入长效机制;在工作业绩方面引入考核机制。全面加强乡镇卫生院人才队伍建设,促进人才队伍稳定、结构合理和充满生机,为乡镇卫生院可持续发展提供人才保障。     

绩效管理推动医院高质量发展:以广东省人民医院为例

国家三级公立医院绩效考核是对医院综合质量的检阅,对公立医院发展具有指挥棒作用。广东省人民医院通过建立绩效考核三级管理机制,对标公立医院绩效考核评分细则,实施精细化管控,促进医院绩效考核相关指标改进。在医疗质量、运行效率、可持续发展和满意度评价4个维度中均实现了提升。为促进医院高质量发展,建议强化绩效考核意识,完善绩效考核管理机制;制定“大规划、大战略”,持续优化考核效果。     

医院质量监测系统在医院管理及临床服务中的应用

医院质量监测系统（HQMS）作为医疗服务监管信息网络直报平台,对建立全国性医疗服务质量与效率资料库,提供医院评审评价数据支持,促进医院内部持续改进具有重要作用。文章将医院应用HQMS进行医疗质量管理和持续改进的具体实践以及取得的成效进行了总结,可以为各医院医疗质量管理提供有益参考。     

Hospital financing in Norway

The Norwegian block grant reform of 1980 replaced state reimbursements to hospitals by block grants allocated to counties according to objective criteria. The reform was accompanied by a general decentralization of budget authority to local level. The reform aimed to promote primary care, equalize the supply of health care across regions and give counties incentives to improve hospital efficiency. A decade later, the reform was reversed. The government has imposed restrictions which reduce the budget discretion of the counties and part of the block grant has been made dependent on the performance of the hospitals in the counties. The government has also issued a 'waiting-list guarantee' which states that patients who suffer from a serious disease are entitled to medical treatment within six months. This paper provides an overview of hospital financing in Norway during the last two decades and discusses why the block grant system did not fulfil the expectations of its architects.