Physicians in leadership: the association between medical director involvement and staff-to-patient ratios

In a hospital environment that demands a careful balance between commercial and clinical interests, the extent to which physicians are involved in hospital leadership varies greatly. This paper assesses the influence of the extent of this involvement on staff-to-patient ratios. Using data gathered f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health care management science 2013-06, Vol.16 (2), p.129-138
Main Authors: Kuntz, Ludwig, Scholtes, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business and Management
Decision making
Econometrics
Germany
Health Administration
Health care
Health Care Surveys
Health Informatics
Hospital Administration
Hospitals
Humans
Intensive care
Job satisfaction
Leadership
Management
Management theory
Medical Staff, Hospital - organization & administration
Medical Staff, Hospital - supply & distribution
Mortality
Nurses
Nursing
Nursing Staff, Hospital - organization & administration
Nursing Staff, Hospital - supply & distribution
Operations Research/Decision Theory
Organizational structure
Personnel Staffing and Scheduling
Physician Executives
Physicians
Quality of care
Quality of Health Care
Ratios
Recruitment
Regression Analysis
Studies
Workforce planning
Working hours
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Summary:In a hospital environment that demands a careful balance between commercial and clinical interests, the extent to which physicians are involved in hospital leadership varies greatly. This paper assesses the influence of the extent of this involvement on staff-to-patient ratios. Using data gathered from 604 hospitals across Germany, this study evidences the positive relationship between a full-time medical director (MD) or heavily involved part-time MD and a higher staff-to-patient ratio. The data allows us to control for a range of confounding variables, such as size, rural/urban location, ownership structure, and case-mix. The results contribute to the sparse body of empirical research on the effect of clinical leadership on organizational outcomes.
ISSN:1386-9620
1572-9389
DOI:10.1007/s10729-012-9218-7