Management for Physicians: An Annotated Bibliography of Recent Literature
Authors: DANIEL J. FINK
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1980)

The Literature of Medicine1 February 1980Management for Physicians: An Annotated Bibliography of Recent LiteratureDANIEL J. FINK, M.D., M.B.A., JOEL D. GOLDHAR, M.B.A., D.B.A.DANIEL J. FINK, M.D., M.B.A.Search for more papers by this author, JOEL D. GOLDHAR, M.B.A., D.B.A.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-92-2-269 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptAs the health care delivery system in the United States has become increasingly organized and bureaucratized, physicians frequently find themselves required to assume managerial roles. The exact nature of the physician's responsibilities may range from the line management tasks of running an emergency room, subspecialty section, or clinical department to the more advisory activities of serving on hospital committees for quality assurance, facilities design, long-range planning, personnel, or finance. Regardless of their assigned tasks and responsibilities, physicians rarely have adequate backgrounds or skills in the various management disciplines to be as effective as they want to be. As concerns over...Facility Design Marketing Economics Finance, Accounting, and Quantitative Methods General Management Organizational Theory and Human Behavior Planning Quality Assurance Practice Management Continued Learning1. ALFORD T. Facility Planning, Design, and Construction of Rural Health Centers. Cambridge: Ballinger; 1979. Comprehensive discussion of the design and building of freestanding health facilities. Google Scholar2. . Planning Guide for Physicians' Medical Facilities. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Medical Association; 1979. The classic primer on office architecture. Google Scholar3. BENNETT C. Spaces for People: Human Factors in Design. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; 1977. Google Scholar4. LANGBURNETTEMOLESKIVACHON JCWD, eds. Designing for Human Behavior. Stroudsburg: Dowden, Hutchinson &Ross; 1974. Google Scholar5. PORTEOUS J. Environment and Behavior. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1977. References 3, 4, and 5 review the small body of knowledge about the interactions of environment and behavior. Google Scholar6. REDSTONE L. ed. Hospitals and Health Care Facilities. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1978. Comprehensive and imaginative collection of articles from Architectural Record that includes many examples of architectural solutions to health care delivery problems. Anyone undertaking a major renovation or building new facilities should read this book. Google Scholar7. SCHEFLEN A. Human Territories: How We Behave in Space-Time. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; 1976. A delightful book of pictures and drawings illustrating the territorial behavior of the human animal. An understanding of territoriality allows the design of facilities in which people relate comfortably to others and to their surroundings. Google Scholar8. SOMMER R. Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall; 1969. In a more psychologically oriented book, Sommer reports his original work on the effects of various environments on human behavior. Complementary to Steele's work. Google Scholar9. STEELE F. Physical Settings and Organizational Development. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1974. Points out the pervasive influence of the work environment on the activities of employees and others, with a checklist for evaluating the impact of physical settings. Relatively small environmental changes can have large effects on human behavior. Google Scholar10. . Health Care Marketing Bibliography. Chicago: American Hospital Association;1977. Listing of articles dealing largely with the hospital phase of health care marketing. Google Scholar11. BERKOWITZFLEXNER EW. The marketing audit: a tool for health service organizations. Health Care Management Rev. 1978;2(4):51-7. A marketing audit, like a financial audit, is a useful tool for managers to identify organizational strengths and weaknesses. Google Scholar12. CLARKE R. Marketing health care: problems in implementation. Health Care Management Rev. 1978;3(1):21-7. As in marketing soap, there are failures in marketing health care. Clarke discusses some of the difficulties encountered in implementing marketing plans. MedlineGoogle Scholar13. KOTLER P. Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; 1975. Kotler's classic introduction applies the concepts of marketing to non-profit organizations. Hospitals are not new cars, but many of the same analytic and communications techniques may be appropriate. Google Scholar14. KOTLER P. Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; 1976. Perhaps the best-written introductory marketing text, to be used as a reference or read by those who become interested in health care marketing. Google Scholar15. KOTLERLEVY PS. Demarketing—yes, demarketing. In: Harvard Business Review: On Management. New York: Harper & Row; 1977: 251-60. Demarketing, an organized method of coping with excess or inappropriate demand, needs to be used by doctors and hospitals. Google Scholar16. LEVITT T. Marketing for Business Growth. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1974. A short and enjoyable book which "stretches the mind" regarding marketing concepts. It does not deal directly with health care but provides valuable pointers on the marketing of goods and services. For example, Levitt points out that carpenters buy not quarter-inch drills, but rather quarter-inch holes. When people seek health care, they may want the caring more than the health. Google Scholar17. MACSTRAVIC R. Marketing Health Care. Germantown: Aspen Systems; 1977. Applies marketing concepts specifically to the health care setting. CrossrefGoogle Scholar18. MONTANA P, ed. Marketing in Non-Profit Organizations. New York: AMACOM; 1978. Good selection of relevant articles, including classics by Kotler, Shapiro, and Ireland. Google Scholar19. SHAPIRO B. Marketing for non-profit organizations. Harvard Business Rev. 1975; 50(5):123-36. The seminal article about marketing the services of non-profit organizations. Google Scholar20. . A Study of Physicians' Fees. Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office; 1978. This federal study, which tries to analyze the factors behind physicians' fee increases, led to proposals to limit physicians' incomes. Google Scholar21. . Staff Report on the Health Maintenance Organization and its Effects on Competition. Washington: Federal Trade Commission; 1977. The government is interested in increasing competition in the health care sector in the hope that prices will fall or that services will improve. This study found that health maintenance organizations did cause changes in community medical practices. Google Scholar22. FELDSTEIN M. The Rising Cost of Hospital Care. Washington: Information Resources Press; 1971. In a classic work that is still relevant, Feldstein analyzes the many factors behind rising hospital costs. Google Scholar23. FUCHS V. Who Shall Live? Health, Economics, and Social Choice. New York: Basic Books; 1974. Professor Fuchs discusses the implications of various economic and political choices that must be made about health care. His thesis, which is difficult to argue with, is that health care expenditures have relatively little to do with the nation's health. Google Scholar24. GREENBERG W, ed. Competition in the Health Care Sector: Past, Present, and Future. Germantown: Aspen Systems;1978. Proceedings of a symposium on competition in health care that is the most comprehensive work on this topic. Google Scholar25. MANSFIELD E. Microeconomics: Theory and Applications. New York: Norton; 1970. Short and readable introduction to the basic concepts of microeconomics, such as supply-demand curves, utility functions, and monopoly and monopsony. Google Scholar26. NEWHOUSE J. The Economics of Medical Care: A Policy Perspective. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1978. Applying microeconomic theory to medical care, New-house comes to some surprising conclusions. A basic familiarity with microeconomics is needed to follow this book. Google Scholar27. SAMUELSON P. Economics. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1976. The perennial introductory economics text. Any edition is valuable. Google Scholar28. WEEKSHERMAN LH, eds. Economics in Health Care. Germantown: Aspen Systems; 1977. Excellent collection of articles on health economics from Inquiry, the publication of the Blue Cross Association, that explore complex issues such as price sensitivity of demand for health services and the implications of different reimbursement mechanisms for utilization. Google Scholar29. BERMANWEEKS HL. The Financial Management of Hospitals. 3rd ed. Ann Arbor: Health Administration Press; 1976. More comprehensive but less readable than Cleverly's book, this complete manual is a good reference work for dealing with specific problem areas. An annotated bibliography is included. Google Scholar30. CLEVERLY W, ed. Financial Management of Health Care Facilities. Germantown: Aspen Systems; 1976. A well-chosen collection of articles providing an excellent background in the financial aspects of health care, covering such topics as budgeting, control of working capital, and long-term financing. Google Scholar31. DEARDEN J. Cost accounting comes to service industries. Harvard Business Rev. 1978;56(5): 133-40. The cost accounting needs of service industries are different from those of manufacturing operations. Google Scholar32. HELFERT E. Techniques of Financial Analysis. 4th ed. Homewood: R. D. Irwin; 1977. A concise survey of key finance concepts, with good chapters on the important topics of funds flow and capital investment decisions. Google Scholar33. LEVINKIRKPATRICK RC. Quantitative Approaches to Management. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1975. A solid textbook that should not be read cover-to-cover but should be used as a guide to the methods of linear programming, Markov chains, and decision analysis. Google Scholar34. SIMINI J. Cost Accounting Concepts for Non-Financial Executives and Managers. New York: McGraw-Hill Paperbacks; 1977. Google Scholar35. SWEENY A. Accounting Fundamentals for Non-Financial Executives and Managers. New York: McGraw-Hill Paper-backs; 1977. Accounting is important because it is the primary tool for reducing management problems to a common language and is helpful in setting goals and measuring results. These two paperback books provide an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand introduction to the subject. Google Scholar36. SWEENYWISNER AJ. Budgeting Fundamentals for Non-Financial Managers and Executives. New York: McGraw-Hill Paperbacks; 1977. Everyone has to make a budget sooner or later; this book describes how to do it. Google Scholar37. BORSTMONTANA DP. Managing Non-Profit Organizations. New York: AMACOM; 1977. Managing nonprofit organizations is different, as the articles in this collection point out. Google Scholar38. DALE E. Management: Theory and Practice. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1978. An introductory text that provides complete coverage of management theory and practice, including topics such as management by objective, team building, and organizational development. Google Scholar39. DRUCKER P. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. New York: Harper & Row; 1973. Google Scholar40. DRUCKER P. The Practice of Management. New York: Harper & Row; 1954. The first book is a massive compendium of Professor Drucker's encyclopedic knowledge and a description of the manager's role in the management process. Slow reading, but worth every word. The second book, although somewhat dated, is still available and is still the most articulate statement of the manager's job. Google Scholar41. . On Management. New York: Harper & Row; 1977. A selection of 39 articles that appeared in the Harvard Business Review over the last 25 years. Certainly not to be read in its entirety, it nevertheless contains readable and relevant articles pertaining to a variety of management disciplines. Google Scholar42. HEATON H. Productivity in Service Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1977. A short, well-written book attempting to combine Mc-Gregor's Theory Y with the demands of managing people in service organizations. Mr. Heaton achieves an excellent synthesis. Google Scholar43. KOVNERNEUHAUSER AD, eds. Health Services Management. Ann Arbor: Hospital Administration Press; 1978. A well-chosen collection of readings combining the abstract organization theories with practical hints about health services management. Nicely complements the Levey and Loomba book. Google Scholar44. LEVEYLOOMBA SN. Health Care Administration: A Managerial Perspective. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott; 1973. Very practical guide to the management of health care institutions. The physician who reads it cover to cover will know more than the average hospital administrator. Google Scholar45. SELBY C. Better performance from "non-profits." Harvard Business Rev. 1978;56(5):92-8. The rewards of better management of nonprofit institutions may not be seen on the bottom line but are evident in better performance and better service to clients. Google Scholar46. WEBBER R. Management: Basic Elements of Managing Organizations. Homewood: Richard D. Irwin; 1975. Another good introductory text. Google Scholar47. BENNIS W. Beyond Bureaucracy. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1966. The death of bureaucracy forecast by Bennis more than a decade ago has yet to happen-in fact, in health care the bureaucracy appears to be increasing-but this collection of essays is an important introduction to the field of organization development. Google Scholar48. BLAKEMOUTON RJ. Building a Dynamic Corporation Through Grid Organization Development. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1969. An important introduction to strategies for achieving corporate excellence via the Blake-Mouton management grid. Google Scholar49. DAVISLAWRENCE SP. Matrix. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1977. Google Scholar50. DAVISLAWRENCE SP. Problems of matrix organizations. Harvard Business Rev. 1978;56(3):131-42. A detailed description of the popular matrix form of organizational design in the book, and some of the problems associated with it in the article. Google Scholar51. GALBRAITH J. Designing Complex Organizations. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1973. Google Scholar52. GALBRAITH J. Organization Design. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1977. There are only a limited number of ways in which complex organizations can change. Hospitals are certainly complex organizations, and Galbraith's prescription for organizational design is both palatable and effective. The first book is easier to read than the second. Google Scholar53. LEAVITT H. Managerial Psychology: An Introduction to Individuals. 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1978. An easy-to-read introduction to the psychological aspects of the management of people in organizations. Google Scholar54. ROEBER R. The Organization in a Changing Environment. Reading: Addison-Wesley; 1973. Using British examples, Roeber discusses the nature of organizational existence in a changing environment. The basic principles enunciated are applicable to the health care setting in the United States. Google Scholar55. SCHEIN E. Organizational Psychology. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; 1972. As medicine becomes more and more an organized enterprise, organizational psychology becomes increasingly relevant. Professor Schein provides a short and readable grounding in this developing field. Google Scholar56. SIMON H. Administrative Behavior. 3rd ed. New York: Free Press; 1976. People in organizations behave differently from the way we usually think they do. Google Scholar57. WEBBER R, ed. Management Pragmatics. Homewood: Richard D. Irwin; 1979. Good collection of readings covering basic elements of managing organizations. Google Scholar58. WEISBORDGOODSTEIN ML, eds. Towards healthier medical systems: can we learn from experience. J Appl Behav Sci. 1978; 14:263-443. This special issue reviews organizational development efforts in health care institutions. The prognosis for the effects of such interventions is not good. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar59. ACKOFF R. A Concept of Corporate Planning. New York: Wiley-Interscience; 1970. CrossrefGoogle Scholar60. ACKOFF R. The Art of Problem Solving. New York: Wiley-Interscience; 1978. Professor Ackoff has a unique approach to planning, which he views as a special form of problem solving. The second book is entertaining and may help the reader look at problems from a new perspective. Google Scholar61. DELBECQVAN DE VENGUSTAFSON AAD. Group Techniques for Program Planning: A Guide to Nominal Group and Delphi Processes. Glen view: Scott, Foresman, & Co.; 1975. When quantitative planning methods are inappropriate, the consensus methods described in this short book can be extremely useful. Google Scholar62. PAULDONAVANTAYLOR RNJ. The reality gap in strategic planning. Harvard Business Rev. 1978;56(3): 123-30. The authors found that companies produce inadequate forecasts and then use the strategic plan as an operating document. Adaptive forward planning, described in the article, may ameliorate these problems. Google Scholar63. PERLIN M. Managing Institutional Planning: Health Facilities, PL. 94-641. Germantown: Aspen Systems; 1976. An introduction for hospitals trying to meet the needs for planning imposed by Public Law 93-641. Google Scholar64. ROTHSCHILD W. Putting It AU Together: A Guide to Strategic Thinking. New York: AMACOM; 1976. Rothschild takes the reader through the strategic thinking process step-by-step. A very useful how-to-plan manual. Google Scholar65. SPIEGELHYMAN AH. Basic Health Planning Methods. Germantown: Aspen System; 1978. Another health planning book, more detailed than Perlin's. Google Scholar66. STEINER G. Top Management Planning. New York: Macmillan; 1969. The comprehensive work on the planning process, dealing with both concepts and techniques. Emphasis on quantitative methods, which the reader need not know how to use but may want to know about. Google Scholar67. THOMAS D. Strategy is different in service industries. Harvard Business Rev. 1978;56(4): 158-67. Product-oriented planning strategies may not be best for a service industry. The author points out that understanding the basic nature of the service company is the key to effectiveness. Google Scholar68. CROSBY P. Quality is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1979. A unique managerial approach to quality assurance. Crosby believes that it's more efficient to do the job correctly the first time. Google Scholar69. DAVIDSON S, ed. PSRO: Utilization and Audit in Patient Care. St. Louis: CV. Mosby; 1976. A detailed "how-to" description of peer review methods. Google Scholar70. EGDAHLGERTMAN RP, eds. Quality Assurance in Health Care. Germantown: Aspen Systems; 1976. This book summarizes a 1975 seminar on quality assurance held in Boston and is a good introduction to the topic. A complete bibliography is included. Google Scholar71. ERTELALDRIDGE PM, eds. Medical Peer Review: Theory and Practice. St. Louis: CV. Mosby; 1977. Excellent summary of the theory of quality assurance, including readings by Donabedian, Brook, Payne, and Slee, and a guide to the formidable practical task of implementing a medical care audit program in the hospital setting. Google Scholar72. . Professional Standards Review Organization 1978 Program Evaluation. Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office; 1979 (DHEW publication HCFA 03000). Government evaluation of a government program that raises serious doubts about the Professional Standards Review Organization efforts to date. Google Scholar73. . Assessing Quality in Health Care: An Evaluation. Washington: National Academy of Sciences, 1976 (Publication 76-09). A short review of the state-of-the-art of quality assurance, pointing out the many difficulties in this field. Google Scholar74. . Patient Care Audit Seminar Instructional Materials. Chicago: InterQual; 1978. Google Scholar75. . Audit Clinic Guidebook. Chicago: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals; 1977. The seminars sponsored by InterQual or the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, both based in Chicacago are probably necessary instruction on the details of retrospective chart audit methodology. The handbooks distributed at these seminars are invaluable to hospital audit committee members. Google Scholar76. WILLIAMSON J. Improving Medical Practice and Health Care: A Bibliographic Guide to Information Management in Quality Assurance and Continuing Education. Cambridge: Ballinger; 1977. An exhaustive bibliography of the literature relevant to quality assurance, this book should be used to find information for criteria-setting sessions. Dr. Williamson's other writings, referred to in the book, present his very sensible outcome-based quality review system. Google Scholar77. WILLIAMSON J. Assessing and Improving Outcomes in Health Care. Cambridge: Ballinger; 1978. Williamson describes his unique "health accounting system," which unfortunately may not be applicable to most diseases or conditions. Google Scholar78. . The Business Side of Medical Practice. Chicago: American Medical Association; 1973. The classic primer for medical practice management. Google Scholar79. BECK L. The Physician's Office. Princeton: Excerpta Medica; 1977. A short and very readable introduction to the management of office practice. Highly recommended to all office-based practitioners, this book covers everything from obtaining office space to hiring employees to billing procedures to finding a partner as the practice grows. Google Scholar80. . The Organization and Development of a Medical Group Practice. Cambridge: Ballinger; 1977. A comprehensive manual of group practice management that should be used as a reference book for answers to specific questions. All areas are covered in exhaustive detail. Google Scholar81. COTTON H. Medical Practice Management. Oradell: Medical Economics Company; 1977. Similar to the Beck book, with a somewhat less formal style. Also highly recommended. Google Scholar82. LEVOY R. The Successful Professional Practice. Engle-wood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; 1970. A prescription for meeting real patient needs to guarantee professional success. Google Scholar83. MCCORMICKRUSHINGDAVIS JRW. The Management of Medical Practice. Cambridge: Ballinger; 1978. A comprehensive practice management manual. Google Scholar84. SULLIVAN R. Medical Record and Index Systems for Community Practice. Cambridge: Ballinger; 1979. Medical records systems are needed for any practice and can either promote or hinder good patient care. Google Scholar85. Harvard Business Review. (Subscription Service Department, P.O. Box 9730, Greenwich, CT 06835.) The most widely read professional business and management journal. Each issue contains at least one or two articles highly relevant to health care, as well as other articles of interest to the general nonbusiness reader. Google Scholar86. Health Care Management Review. (Aspen Systems, 20010 Century Boulevard, Germantown, MD 20767.) A relative newcomer to the health care management literature, this journal has reviews of relevant topics and an interview with a leading health care administrator or policy-maker in each issue. Somewhat more academic than Hospitals. Google Scholar87. Hospital and Health Services Administration. (American College of Hospital Administrators, 840 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611.) This quarterly publication of the American College of Hospital Administrators contains reviews of management issues relevant to health care. Tends to be theoretical and somewhat dry. Google Scholar88. Hospital Financial Management. (Hospital Financial Management Association, 666 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611.) For physicians who need to deal specifically with financial matters, this magazine provides an update on changing accounting practices and federal regulations as well as articles on hospital finance and accounting. Google Scholar89. Hospitals, JAHA. (840 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611.) Each issue of the official publication of the American Hospital Association contains about 10 articles on hospital function-from food service to building maintenance to quality assurance to institutional governance—and occasional special issues deal with topics like cost containment, regulation, or hospital architecture. Should be read to keep up with the hospital administration. Google Scholar90. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management. (Aspen Systems, 20010 Century Boulevard, Germantown, MD 20767.) New quarterly dealing solely with ambulatory care and showing promise of becoming an important information source in this rapidly developing area. Google Scholar91. Quality Resource Bulletin. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, 875 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611.) Very useful monthly bulletin on medical audit and quality assurance that should be read regularly by all audit committee chairmen and by audit committee assistants. Google Scholar92. Topics in Hospital Financial Management. (Aspen Systems, 20010 Century Boulevard, Germantown, MD 20767.) More comprehensive than Hospital Financial Management, this quarterly focuses on a major topic in each issue. It may, therefore, be more useful to the financial neophyte. Recent issues have covered cost containment, risk management, and capital budgeting. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: DANIEL J. FINK, M.D., M.B.A.; JOEL D. GOLDHAR, M.B.A., D.B.A.Affiliations: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C.▸From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the National Research Council; Washington, D.C. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byManagerial model of the attending physician 1 February 1980Volume 92, Issue 2_Part_1Page: 269-275KeywordsEmergency departmentHealth careHealth care quality assessmentHospitalsRunningSub-specialty care ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 February 1980 Copyright & Permissions© 1980 American College of PhysiciansPDF downloadLoading ...