A widening gap? Static and dynamic performance differences between specialist and general hospitals

Antonio Vera (), Pythagoras Petratos and Torsten Oliver Salge
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Antonio Vera: German Police University
Pythagoras Petratos: Oxford University
Torsten Oliver Salge: RWTH Aachen University

Health Care Management Science, 2018, vol. 21, issue 1, No 2, 25-36

Abstract: Abstract This paper develops and tests a dynamic model of hospital focus. It does so by tracing the performance trajectories of specialist and general hospitals to identify whether a performance gap exists and whether it widens or shrinks over time. Our longitudinal analyses of all hospital organizations within the English National Health Service (NHS) reveal not only a notable performance gap between specialist and general hospitals in particular with regards to patient satisfaction that widens over time, but also the emergence of a gap especially with regards to hospital staff job satisfaction. These findings reflect the considerable potential of specialization as a means to enhance hospital effectiveness. However, they also alert health policy makers to the threat of a widening performance gap between specialist and general hospitals with potential negative repercussions at the patient and health system level.

Keywords: Hospitals; Specialization; Focus; Performance; Mixed-effect growth models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10729-016-9376-0

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