Will your academic department survive managed care?
The current form of academic department is likely to vanish from many institutions. Changes occurring in health care are part of the evolution other industries have experienced, following the product life cycle. Physicians are becoming "deprofessionalized" and as such are beginning to resemble technical workers seen in other industries. The rearrangements in health care are bringing together organizations with different missions, priorities, culture and even language. An academic department may not be considered as an asset to the larger organization or network, representing but one option for product differentiation in the market place. There are strategies for maintaining the viability of the academic component of an organization that necessitate congruence with the overall strategy for the greater organization.
Feinstein
L
L
Cook County Hospital, Chicago, USA. DrLBF@alo.com
Temmerman
J
J
D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D019058:Community Networks; D003363:Cost Control; D004465:Economic Competition; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000458:organization & administration; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000639:trends*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011357:Product Line Management; D014481:United States