Partnerships between Medical Centres and General Hospitals Providing Normal Care Standards in Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Germany

 

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Abstract

Hospital managers and the heads of medical departments are nowadays being faced with ever increasing demands. It is becoming difficult for some small hospitals to find highly experienced or even experienced medical staff, to provide specific health-care services at break-even prices and to maintain their position in competition with other hospitals. On the other hand, large hospitals are facing enormous pressure in the investment and costs fields. Cooperation could provide a solution for these problems. For an optimal strategic exploitation of the hospitals, their direction could be placed in the hands of a joint medical director. However, the directorship of two hospitals is associated both with opportunities and with risks. The present article illustrates the widely differing aspects of the cooperation between a medical centre and a general hospital providing standard care from both a theoretical point of view and on the basis of practical experience with an actual cooperation of this type in Heidelberg.

Zusammenfassung

Krankenhausträger und Chefärzte sehen sich heutzutage wachsenden Anforderungen ausgesetzt. Es wird für einige kleinere Kliniken schwieriger, leitende und in Weiterbildung arbeitende ärztliche Mitarbeiter zu finden, bestimmte Gesundheitsleistungen kostendeckend anzubieten und sich in dem Konkurrenzkampf mit anderen Kliniken zu behaupten. Große Kliniken wiederum sehen sich einem immensen Investitions- und Kostendruck ausgesetzt. Kooperationen könnten eine Lösung der Probleme herbeiführen. Dabei kann zur optimalen strategischen Ausrichtung der Häuser die Leitung dieser in der Person eines gemeinsamen Chefarztes vereint werden. Die Leitung zweier Krankenhäuser birgt jedoch Risiken und Chancen zugleich.Dieser Artikel beschreibt die facettenreichen Aspekte einer Kooperation zwischen einem Haus der Maximalversorgung und einem Haus der Grund- und Regelversorgung theoretisch und aus den praktischen Erfahrungen einer gelebten Kooperation in Heidelberg.

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