Management practices in Australian healthcare: can NSW public hospitals do better?
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of best management practices in an Australian state-run healthcare system, namely New South Wales (NSW), and studies the impact of a range of hospital factors in driving best management practices as a means of enhancing healthcare delivery.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adapts a unique survey instrument globally tested to quantify the multi-dimensional nature of hospital management practices in 42 acute care public hospitals of NSW. The authors then analysed the role of hospital-specific characteristics in driving best management practices, namely hospital size (measured by the number of hospital beds, employees and doctors), level of skill and education, degree of hospital manager autonomy and organisational hierarchy.
Findings
The findings of this study show the areas of strength and potential areas of improvement in NSW hospitals. The authors find a positive association between the adoption of better management practices and hospital size (measured by the number of hospital beds and employees), level of skills and education, degree of hospital manager autonomy and organisational hierarchy. However, hospital size as measured by the number of doctors did not have a statistically significant relationship.
Practical implications
This paper is of interest to both hospital administrators, clinical doctors and healthcare policy-makers who want to improve and develop strategies for better management in the healthcare sector.
Originality/value
This study provides an internationally comparable robust measure of management capability in public hospitals, and contributes to the evidence-base of management practices and performance in hospitals.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the tremendous contribution and support provided by the London School of Economics and NSW Health, Sydney for funding this research study published as “Management Matters in NSW Health Hospitals - Findings from the NSW Management Practices Health project - May 2011” which forms the basis of this paper. The authors would like to thank Professor Nick Bloom and his team from the LSE who trained and guided the UTS team throughout the NSW Health management practices project.
Citation
Agarwal, R., Green, R., Agarwal, N. and Randhawa, K. (2016), "Management practices in Australian healthcare: can NSW public hospitals do better?", Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 331-353. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-01-2015-0016
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited