Hospital performance: Competing or shared values?

International audienceObjective To find out which are the emerging views on hospital performance and to analyze how these views vary among hospital stakeholders.Methods Study setting: Three hospital stakeholder groups (physicians, caregivers, and administrative staff) in a large Paris teaching hospital.Study design: A case study combining a qualitative (interviews of 80 key hospital stakeholders and a survey of hospital staff), and a quantitative analysis (a questionnaire composed of 4 theoretical dimensions, 13 sub-dimensions, 66 items) with triangulation of the results.Results Hospital stakeholders assign greatest importance to the human relations dimension, i.e., organizational climate (professional and public service values) and quality of work life. These values attract a high degree of consensus among stakeholders (no statistical difference between physicians, caregivers and administrative staff).Conclusions Our findings challenge the mainstream view that competing values underlie hospital performance. Currently, views are to some extent shared among different stakeholder groups. A reason for this could be the need to form a more united front in the face of recent reforms. This common emphasis on professional and public service values could be the basis for formulating management priorities in teaching hospitals in order to improve performance

Hospital performance: Competing or shared values?

Objective To find out which are the emerging views on hospital performance and to analyze how these views vary among hospital stakeholders.Methods Study setting: Three hospital stakeholder groups (physicians, caregivers, and administrative staff) in a large Paris teaching hospital. Study design: A case study combining a qualitative (interviews of 80 key hospital stakeholders and a survey of hospital staff), and a quantitative analysis (a questionnaire composed of 4 theoretical dimensions, 13 sub-dimensions, 66 items) with triangulation of the results.Results Hospital stakeholders assign greatest importance to the human relations dimension, i.e., organizational climate (professional and public service values) and quality of work life. These values attract a high degree of consensus among stakeholders (no statistical difference between physicians, caregivers and administrative staff).Conclusions Our findings challenge the mainstream view that competing values underlie hospital performance. Currently, views are to some extent shared among different stakeholder groups. A reason for this could be the need to form a more united front in the face of recent reforms. This common emphasis on professional and public service values could be the basis for formulating management priorities in teaching hospitals in order to improve performance.

An empirical survey on biobanking of human genetic material and data in six EU countries.

Biobanks correspond to different situations: research and technological development, medical diagnosis or therapeutic activities. Their status is not clearly defined. We aimed to investigate human biobanking in Europe, particularly in relation to organisational, economic and ethical issues in various national contexts. Data from a survey in six EU countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK) were collected as part of a European Research Project examining human and non-human biobanking (EUROGENBANK, coordinated by Professor JC Galloux). A total of 147 institutions concerned with biobanking of human samples and data were investigated by questionnaires and interviews. Most institutions surveyed belong to the public or private non-profit-making sectors, which have a key role in biobanking. This activity is increasing in all countries because few samples are discarded and genetic research is proliferating. Collections vary in size, many being small and only a few very large. Their purpose is often research, or research and healthcare, mostly in the context of disease studies. A specific budget is very rarely allocated to biobanking and costs are not often evaluated. Samples are usually provided free of charge and gifts and exchanges are the common rule. Good practice guidelines are generally followed and quality controls are performed but quality procedures are not always clearly explained. Associated data are usually computerised (identified or identifiable samples). Biobankers generally favour centralisation of data rather than of samples. Legal and ethical harmonisation within Europe is considered likely to facilitate international collaboration. We propose a series of recommendations and suggestions arising from the EUROGENBANK project