Human resource management practices with special reference to the latest developments of the 1990s such as environmental effects and managing diversity, were investigated. The purpose of the study was to unveil how the health care industry can benefit from these new concepts, as well as to describe how the traditional health care facilities can adapt these new ideas. Specific examples were provided to illustrate this point. In compilation of this report, both primary and secondary research was used. As primary research, many reputable individuals in the health care industry were consulted, and asked to comment on the rough draft of this report. Secondary sources included many journal articles, original researches and books that were written on this technical subject. It can be concluded from this research, that the health care industry should adapt the latest methods to compete and survive, such as use more marketing tools to attract human resource management personnel from other industries, promote diversity at the work place, promote from within the company, and cross-train personnel whenever possible. Health care industry has generally lagged behind other industries in securing high-performance individuals and marketing personnel; however, with the development of health maintenance organizations, this trend is changing.
In recent years, there has been significant interest in the application of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and total quality management (TQM), and patient-focused care (PFC) in health care organisations around the globe. The hospital industry has substantially embraced the concepts of CQI and TQM with the belief that these concepts and programmes will lead to an improvement in both the quality and efficiency with which health services are delivered. The objective of this article is to achieve better outcomes in health care services with fewer resources by studying the implementation of patient-focused care in the health care provision context and particularly in the area of pharmaceutical care management as an integrated process in the delivery of health care in a hospital setting. The changes in health care provision have in many instances meant that the provision of pharmaceutical services needed re-assessing.
In this paper, key changes taking in the development of the UK health sector from the 1940s to the mid-1990s are briefly sketched. The changes originating from a variety of socio-economic and political circumstances have largely been responsible for the current shape and position of the NHS. In a forthcoming paper, we will review the status of the NHS under the new Labour Government and examine implications of new changes for the future of the NHS.
This paper is one of a series of three, covering very comprehensively human resource practices in a global and generic context. The series of papers presents practices which are directly of relevance to the health-care context, and which are based on proven, effective and pioneering approaches. The first paper covers practices based on British and European experiences, gathered from world-class organisations that have either been finalists or went on to win prestigious quality awards such as the British and European Quality Awards. The benchmarking analysis presented in this paper is based on the sub-criteria prescribed by the European Quality Awards Model, which include: how people resources are planned and improved; how the skills and capabilities of people are preserved and developed through recruitment, training and career progression; how people and teams agree targets and continuously review performance; how the involvement of everyone in continuous improvement is prompted and people empowered to take appropriate action; how effective top-down and bottom-up communication is achieved.
Education consortia are now over 18 months old and can be seen as a "hybrid" between a top-down resource allocation system and a bottom-up workforce planning system. The strengths and weaknesses of the developing system are identified, as is emerging good practice in consortia operations. A model for consortia working which emphasises strategic working is proposed.
This article describes a number of significant changes taking place within the management education and development sphere within the National Health Service. It also highlights a number of important developments within the higher education world. At the confluence of these changes, it is possible to identify a new alternative to more conventional in-house management training and the pursuit of postgraduate management qualifications. An example of this "third way" in action is offered through the description of an in-house accredited management development programme run within an NHS Trust.
Substance abuse continues to increase and permeate all sectors of US society including the medical profession. This article details the importance of testing everyone associated with health care organizations, including physicians, as a means of protecting patient welfare, increasing quality of care, and reducing negligence lawsuits, as well as providing treatment and recovery opportunities for those with addictions.