Analysis of Factors Affecting the Optimal Management of Hospitals: A Qualitative Study

The rapid growth of technology, demographic changes, increasing patients’ demand, and changes in the nature of diseases, increased competition among hospitals and healthcare providers, and constraints in budget allocation necessitate adopting a novel approach to the management of medical centers based on international standards.

This qualitative study was conducted in two stages by a content analysis approach in the year 2022 in teaching hospitals affiliated with the Islamic Azad University nationwide. The statistical population in the first stage included all studies addressing various aspects of the factors affecting the optimal management of hospitals. In the second stage, it included 10 executive managers of hospitals purposively selected as experts until reaching data saturation. The validity and reliability of the interviews were confirmed using the Lincoln and Guba methods. The data analysis method involved a comprehensive review of studies to identify factors affecting the optimal management of hospitals and a contractual content analysis to identify, analyze, and report themes.

In the first stage, a comprehensive review of studies was conducted, encompassing a total of 96 research papers, including 36 in Persian and 60 in English. Following the examination of the titles and abstracts of these research papers and aligning them with the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 18 studies were selected for final analysis, comprising 11 in Persian and 7 in English. After identifying the factors affecting the optimal management of hospitals, three main dimensions were extracted, including strategic planning (12 components), reengineering (8 components), and supply chain engineering (14 components) for the optimal management of hospitals affiliated with the Islamic Azad University using the content analysis method.

Managers should implement each of the identified components of strategic planning, reengineering, and supply chain engineering for the optimal management of hospitals in line with the hospitals’ structure. By examining the excellence and efficiency of hospitals over time, as well as evaluating the trends of each of them, they should take steps towards adopting reform policies and their experiences should be utilized in other hospitals.