The Effective Strategic Management in a Medical Institution: Conceptual Principles

Abstract

The article reveals the conceptual principles of effective strategic management in medical institutions under the conditions of uncertainty. This theme is important in view of the need for adapting strategic management practices in Ukraine, accumulated in countries with high-performing healthcare system. The results of analysis confirm that strategic management in the healthcare sector is a factor underlying its innovation activity, implementation of national programs on reforms of healthcare system, provision of guaranteed scopes of high-quality medical assistance to the country's residents. The principal strategic and financial goals of a medical institution are determined as sustaining the social, medical and economic efficiency. An analysis of a sample of international thematic sources included in Google Scholar, Science Direct, EBSCO, Medline, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases, retrieved by querying the databases using the keyword "Strategic management of healthcare organizations", was made. Based on this analysis, a strategic management model for a healthcare institution by focus area is proposed: relationship between strategic planning and organizational efficiency; strategic leadership; efficiency, productivity and quality of the medical care process; implementation of strategic innovations. Special emphasis is placed on the importance of continual professional development of medical staff. It is stressed that because the healthcare system belongs to the category of R&D intensive ones, strategic development of a medical institution needs to focus on implementing not only medical and biotechnological innovations in medical care and clinical research practices, but also on introducing digital technologies in clinic's management and customer service.