A systems intervention for improving medical-school-hospital interrelationships

The large number of affiliations between medical schools and hospitals resulting from recently increased size of schools has typically been accompanied by both school-hospital and hospital-hospital interrelationship problems involving faculty and administrative personnel in all departments and at all levels. In this paper the authors describe a new technique, "systems intervention," designed specifically to deal with problems of needed change in complex organizational settings, and they illustrate its use by reporting a case study of the relationships between Tufts University School of Medicine and its associated hospitals. The process combines system analysis and behavioral science techniques to promote understanding and overcome barriers to change. Changes attributed to the systems intervention at Tufts are outlined.