Publications in the field of health management are valuable opportunities for documentation. Medicine means diagnosis, treatment, but also management, administration, communication, public image, etc. The authors of this paper aimed to present elements of applied management in health in accordance with modern principles of medical practice. This time, the team of authors did not aim to perform an analysis of the deficiencies of the health system and the remedies for these deficiencies. In this book we will not read what should not be done, we will read what is done or what can be done in the management activity of health units, having as a model the practices in the private system.
The paper is a synthesis of essays loaded with realism and clinical experience of the authors, it is not a compilation of ideas taken from various treatises. The book is structured in three parts, being structured from general to specific, including debates on issues and phenomena in the health system, specific analysis at the level of private health units (part I), the approach to interaction, inter-medical relationship patient / physician-client in private health services (part II), management management in the substructures of units, clinics, sections, offices (part III).
The analysis of the evolutions of the last years, shows eloquently that the providers of health services in private system have managed to present to the market a promising model of good practices, a model that can be adopted in many state units. If in the field of medical practice the private health services borrow or learn from the state ones, by recruiting great specialists, in the matter of management the situation could be in the opposite direction, the state units have something to learn from the private ones. .
We can speak of a private health network that in agreement with the authors of this volume we can recognize as a true health system - the private health system in Romania - a happy reality today that requires doctors the same effort and dedication wherever they would find out.
Private health services are a welcome alternative. Their organization involves efficient management, the adoption of valid management principles, the abandonment of obsolete mentalities and practices, the recognition of the value of the doctor, the value of health services in society and especially the recognition of the patient's rights and fulfillment of his needs.
We are glad that in Romania there have been private units that have imposed themselves on the market, for example Sanador Hospital, Neuromed Center, MedLife, Medsana, Monza, Regina Maria and others. The private initiative was supported by the state by settling some services from the private units but at a certain moment there was a risk that this mechanism would be stopped for the private units.
It is desirable for society to support private initiative in the field of health because it is an absolute necessary option for the local population.
The population has the right to this alternative, it has the right to treatment conditions, to a consistent medical communication, to treatment with dignity and to the most advanced solution of the health problem.
Private clinics have the special quality of providing comfort to patients and in addition have an indisputable quality in appreciating the services of reputable doctors with a recruitment policy aimed at collaborating or hiring the most important medical personalities. These brands bring not only clients, but are a proof of the correct recognition of the value of professional personality, which in some state clinics is sometimes overlooked.
We should not be left with the impression that management in state medicine is far behind, but it has a few steps to recover in some respects, not all. We have very good, very competitive state clinics in the country. In Europe there are famous state units, such as AKH in Vienna, Grosshadern in Munich, which have an exemplary management. In our country, too, the state centers were noticed. For example, Sfantul Luca Hospital in Bucharest, Nicolae Oblu Hospital in Iasi, Moinesti Hospital and others have undergone special modernizations. At the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital in the capital, the Center of Excellence in Neurosurgery was established in 2005 (with the initiative and management of Prof. Dr. A. Ciurea, director of the hospital at that time).
In the private area there are centers that have become international landmarks, for example, INI Center Hannover, the Eastern European clinics Acibadem and Anadolu, which have opened units in Romania, etc. We also note the SMURD services that have become an entity known to every Romanian.
The authors consider that the future of medicine in a free society belongs to the private one, without minimizing the capacities of state medicine. The private hospital finds its perfect setting as an alternative for certain segments of the population who want a certain standard of medical services. Don't forget We know that health insurance is getting higher and higher and the appearance of private hospitals in Romania solves these existing demands everywhere in the capital market.
The authors of the volume have published several books on management in the health system and organizations, offering analyzes and suggestions for better management of managerial activity. We mention them below:
- Ciurea, A.V., Ciubotaru, V.G., Avram, E. (2007). Management development in health organizations. Excellence in Neurosurgery services. Bucharest: University Publishing House.
- Ciurea, A.V., Ciubotaru, V.G., Avram, E. (2009). Modern management in health organizations. Perspectives in Neurosurgery services. Bucharest: Medical Publishing House.
- Ciurea, A.V., Cooper, C.L., Avram, E. (2010) (Eds.). Systems management and health organizations. Bucharest: "Carol Davila" University Publishing House.
- Ciurea, A.V., Ciubotaru, V.G., Avram, E. (coord.) (2010). Hospital department management. Bucharest: University Publishing House.
- Ciurea, A.V., Ciubotaru, V.G., Avram, E. (coord.) (2011). Management in medical units. Bucharest: University Publishing House.
We conclude that we have in front of us probably the most formidable team of clinicians - most with leadership experience - with proven skills and contributions in the management of health units. We are all the more glad that the dances are representatives of neurosurgery.
We congratulate the authors for the effort made and for the new initiative they have in this paper. We hope that the proposed ideas will be appreciated at their fair value. This book and the others should be read not only by doctors who have a long medical career, but especially by those who are trained and will lead the destinies of health services in this country.
Prof. Dr. Alexandru Constantinovici
Full Member of the Academy of Medical Sciences