Lean Management: Review of Lean Consciousness for the Clinical Laboratory

Lean management is a work philosophy of continuous improvement to achieve a smooth work flow by minimizing all kinds of waste including time, cost and manpower. The concept of lean management started as early as 1980’s and was soon adopted by production industry. However, incorporation of this concept in healthcare has been very gradual and hesitant, though lean heath care has immense potential to improve operational performance. A clinical laboratory, which is essential in practice of evidence-based medicine, can be efficiently managed using lean management concept. Only a few publications in English literature have studied the effect of implementation of lean management in a clinical laboratory. There are certain challenges that a health care manager is likely to face in the implementation of lean management in clinical laboratory especially in developing nations. The present review discusses the implementation of lean management in a clinical laboratory with identification of various steps which require lean thinking.

Developing Characteristics and Competences of a Health Care Manager: Literature Review

Broadly educated professionals are a rely valuable resource for the Russian public health system in the current socio-economic conditions. Their capability to flexibly switch the focus and content of their activities in the changing and challenging environment is essential for successful performance. The purpose of our study is to analyze the international evidence on managing the process of competencies’ development in healthcare managers. Competence-oriented education and training of future health-care managers is of special interest. In light of this, the study of international data on the organization of the processes of key competence development is important. Here with, it is necessary to take into account the content of the studies, resources and technologies, factors that influence on this process, the development and evaluation of models aimed at improvement of the education of healthcare management professionals at medical schools. We believe that the results of this review will help to develop and offer a number of practical steps aimed at optimizing the education and training of healthcare managers. In addition to a review of international data, this article presents an innovative project for the development of professional competencies of health managers – the Academy of Talent Development in Healthcare (ATDH). This project involves students of the Sechenov University who want to learn how to lead healthcare teams efficiently.

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE HEAD ON HEALTH CARE

The Transactional Analysis is a relatively new Bulgarian psycho-dynamic theory, which is successfully used to discover peculiarities and problems in communication and relationships. The contemporary reality of the healthcare system in Bulgaria is characterized by dynamics, administrative changes, new requirements and challenges.Medical staff, in addition to high professional training, needs to have a number of flexible and organizational skills to be able to respond successfully to changing working conditions.The material examines the Ego-structure of the personality of the health care manager and has performed a functional analysis according to the contemporary requirements of labor and management.Discussed are the strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities for personal development of the leader in health care with the instruments of Transactional Analysis.

“Treated me … like I was family”: Qualitative Evaluation of a Culturally-Adapted Health Care Manager Intervention for Latinos with Serious Mental Illness and at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Latinos with serious mental illness (SMI) experience health and health care disparities and may benefit from interventions that improve access to, coordination of, and receipt of primary care services. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of Latinos with SMI and at risk for cardiovascular disease participating in Bridges to Better Health and Wellness (B2BHW), a culturally-adapted health care manager intervention delivered in a public outpatient mental health clinic. A total of 29 Latino participants completed a post-intervention survey that included an open-ended question about the three things they liked most about B2BHW; a subset of 16 participants participated in one of three post-intervention focus groups. Results indicate that what mattered most to participants was the health education they received, the positive relationships they formed with their health care managers, the care coordination assistance they obtained, and the motivation and activation they gained from this intervention. Study findings suggest that key elements of the health care manager intervention (e.g., care coordination, and patient activation) shaped participants' experiences with B2BHW and were perceived as beneficial.

Key Competences of a Health Care Manager

Objective: The aim of the research was to construct a theoretical model of competences of managers employed in health care institutions in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship. Methodology: The theoretical list of competences was based on the literature of the subject and the results developed during the workshop session with postgraduate students in the scope of management of healthcare entities. All respondents (266 persons) were health care workers and held managerial positions at various levels of organizations. Findings: On the basis of the obtained results it can be stated that in the key competency model of the efficient manager dominates professional competence in the field of organization and management. These competences were also diagnosed with the greatest deficiencies that hinder effective work. Value Added: Results of the research enable the introduction of appropriate curricular content into the educational model of potential healthcare managers, hence improving management quality of medical organizations.