engleski

Challenges in hospital governance

Health is one of the fundamental social values, and health care systems have an important role of ensuring access to health services to all members of a society in order for them to have equal possibilities of sustaining health. Moreover, organization, management and efficient performance of health systems and health institutions are considered to be important elements of a broader sustainable development strategy. In the past few decades hospitals around the world are facing multiple challenges in their economic and institutional environment. Retaining costs, development of medical technology, increased control over the planning of health care, increased demand for health services are just some of the changes that have resulted in great pressures on hospital performance and their survival. The existing models of management have become unsustainable and inappropriate for successfully managing systematic shocks and changes that are the result of the globalization process. In order to cope with the changes in the environment, hospitals have engaged in the reform process and began to change their organization structures and governance. Once very different from the corporate sector, governance of hospitals in current conditions is becoming increasingly similar to corporate governance. This paper analyzes the effects of current global trends on the health care system and its sustainability. Characteristics and the role of governance for health are analyzed as well as the characteristics of governance and conducted reforms of hospitals using the example of the European Union (EU) member countries. The purpose of the paper is to identify key challenges and trends in hospital governance and to bring conclusions on the effects of conducted reforms. Furthermore, on the basis of the performed analysis implications of proper governance are accentuated and therefore recommendations and potential guidelines for future reform steps in the area of hospital governance in Croatia are given with the goal of achieving sustainable hospital sector performance and management.

governance; hospitals; EU; Republic of Croatia

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