MANAGING HEALTH SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS

Author: Lubomir Ivanov

Management is, at least, as old as the Bible. Listen to what is written in the Old Testament, Exodus 18.17-23:

"… And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it alone. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God, and bring their cases to God; and you shall teach them the statutes and the decisions, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover choose able man from all the people, such as fear God, men who are trustworthy and who hate a bribe; and place such man over the people as rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times; every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves; so it will be easier for you and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure and all this people also will go to their place in peace …"

In the new management milieu health services organizations are looking for paths of transitions. In this process key factor is the manager himself. However, this does not mean to make management only by intuition, as many high rank and low rank effectors are used to think. The issue is that the modern manager should be in continuous education with his professional destiny: viz., to be hand-in-hand with the development of medicine, to beware of mistakes that more likely belong to others than to himself, etc. Naturally, here comes where professional literature plays important role.

We present here a cycle of lectures in medical management, which are up to date and with objectiveness that is quite new for such kind of material. Theoretical problems of modern management are illustrated with numerous case-studies, which provoke the reader to look for alternatives. A new chapter on "Management of quality in medical care" is quite an achievement by the author, who is correspondingly an expert with the World Health Organization.

CONTENTS

I. Evolution of the management philosophy

II. Quintescence of decision making

III. Management by objectives

IV. Case study № 1: Discussion on the "Law for private medical practice"

V. Management of personnel in health care

VI. Conceptualization of group dynamics

VII. Effectiveness of (medical) councelling

VIII. Management of quality in medical care

IX. Case study № 2: Discussion on proposals for "Private projects for management of health establishments"