The failed revolution in health care--the role of management

The decade of the 1980s held promise that at last the health care industry would begin to cut the acceleration of costs and improve service noticeably. Moreover, technology, moving at a fast pace, promised a flood of new devices and disease fighters that would greatly help the well-being of Americans. That was the promise, but something happened on the way to fulfilling the promise. Costs continue to soar, treatment and delivery of the treatment remain erratic in quality and maddeningly slow, and often discouragingly impersonal. While technology has come up with a string of cures and devices, its realization has meant little to most consumers with common complaints. The entrepreneurs who appeared on the scene in hospital, routine care, and treatment settings were thought to be the key to a revitalization of the industry. But very few of them succeeded. In fact, blame for the failure can be leveled at bad management. Too often the executives of health care organizations got caught up in marketing their product or service and in financing "fixes" that may have bolstered their standing with their creditors and in the stock market but that did little to improve service delivery. The groundwork for lasting success rests on sound administration of operations, good management of employee and staff resources, comprehensive and informative management control systems, and adherence to a consistent, focused management philosophy. Perhaps the next stage for the health care industry will pay more attention to these principles.