[Reorganizing departments - an opportunity to formalize procedures for cross-specialty care in public hospitals]

Abstract

Among the reforms promoted by the Ministry of Health to reverse the compartmentalization within French hospital departments, "new governance" is a core element of the "Hôpital 2007" plan. Public hospitals are free to reorganize their departments into a different and more rational structure. This reorganization requires that the new departments reach a critical size and bring together units according to three complementary approaches: medical, administrative, and cultural. This reorganization process provides an opportunity to improve cross-specialty "individualized" care by formalizing procedures and protocols that help healthcare personnel to cooperate. The success of this reform essentially depends on a real commitment by all staff - workers, professionals, and managers - to improve patient care.