A healthier health care system for the United Kingdom

New research into the UK’s hospitals has found a clear link between key management practices and a range of quality and financial-performance measures.
The study indicates that better target setting, talent management, and business leadership by doctors are correlated with lower rates of infection in hospitals and of readmission, more satisfied patients and more productive staffs, and higher financial margins.
Overall, though, the management practices of the UK’s National Health Service hospitals lag well behind those of their private-sector counterparts and of UK industrial companies.

Exhibit 1: The UK’s National Health Service hospitals rank lower than UK industrial companies in average management-practice scores.
Exhibit 2: The involvement of doctors in the business management of hospitals is strongly linked to their operational effectiveness and performance management.
Exhibit 3: Hospitals with a higher proportion of clinically trained managers are better managed.