[The 2002 hospital reform--physicians' views].

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• The 2002 Norwegian hospital reform aimed to enhance healthcare services, focusing on responsibility, access, quality, organization, and productivity.
• This study evaluates physician perceptions of the reform's success in achieving these stated objectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the extent to which hospital-based physicians believe the 2002 Norwegian hospital reform met its objectives.
• To gather physician perspectives on changes in work conditions, remuneration, and organizational matters post-reform.

Main Methods:

• A postal questionnaire was distributed to 2,500 hospital-based physicians in January 2006.
• Respondents compared the post-reform situation (2006) to the pre-reform era, assessing progress toward reform aims.

Main Results:

• A 53% response rate (1,298 physicians) was achieved.
• Physicians generally felt that goals for organization, access to services, and quality of medical work had become more distant.
• While 58% perceived increased productivity, 38% felt quality of medical work had worsened post-reform, compared to 8% who saw improvement.
• Regional variations were noted, with southern physicians reporting less defined responsibilities and poorer quality of medical work.

Conclusions:

• The majority of physicians perceived a negative impact from the hospital reform, with significant concerns regarding organizational goals, service access, and medical quality.
• Despite some perceived productivity gains, the reform's overall effect on healthcare services was viewed negatively by nearly half of the responding physicians.