Management for Health Practitioners ─ Tools, Techniques, Approaches, and Applications for Practitioners and Administrators

There remains a great divide between clinicians and management in the healthcare setting. This book aims to provide a useful, practical and appreciative knowledge of management for healthcare practitioners and supporters, in improving the understanding to add ‘value’ in support of the overall delivery models, and ultimately to support the attainment and progress of meeting the changing needs and pressures within the health sector, which are far reaching in role, function and sector linked to people, politics, culture, patient (customer) choices.

Healthcare practitioners are trained to deliver healthcare services which typically are some form of clinical application. However, increasingly there are more administrative expectations and issues which are often placed upon clinicians. This book provides an overview of a selection of management approaches, methods, tools, applications and methodologies for healthcare practitioners and administrative managers.

The book is unique in that it applies a general principle of management consideration and its specific importance within an environment, where there is still a clear distinction between the managers and practitioners, where often the managers are ‘the enemy’; taking budget away, providing substandard or poor quality materials and equipment, and chasing performance targets. This book provides useful, practical, understandable awareness of management issues in healthcare whether its budgets, management tools, asset management planning, strategic thinking and application, performance management, change management, etc. The author includes numerous case studies, analogies and pictures to illustrate his narrative.

Richard Smith is currently a Partner with ValueSteps, a UK consultancy specializing in business turnaround, business improvement strategy, and growth. He has prepared and delivery five grants over ￡7m in delivering innovations within the UK. He has an aptitude in delivering benefits, efficiencies, and quality management work within the health service which has provided insight on how often clinicians and administrators at all levels are really expected and needed to know, understand and deliver more management type initiatives and roles, which they are usually not too well prepared or qualified to do. He has held postgraduate positions in business strategy, personnel, capital investment and project management and has trained and delivered process and business improvement methodologies, specifically lean. He holds a first degree in Engineering Management, and Executive MBA and a Psychology University Certificate.