Issues for consideration in the establishment of a program management structure

In a product management structure, the management of separate products is moved down in the organization to achieve greater participatory management as well as greater effectiveness in the identification of factors most relevant to the survival of the product. For the business industry, managing products as separate entities enables more effective competition in the marketplace. This approach has been used in U.S. hospitals in managing programs and services. Described here are the initial attempts at program management undertaken at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, a highly specialized, provincial 1,100-bed teaching and referral hospital. Some issues important in developing and implementing the program management approach are discussed.