Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jul 28;10(7):e0132257.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132257. eCollection 2015.

An Analysis of Organizational Performance Based on Hospital Specialization Level and Strategy Type

Han-Sung Kim  1 , Young-Hoon Kim  2 , Jung-Sik Woo  3 , Sook-Jung Hyun  4
Affiliations

An Analysis of Organizational Performance Based on Hospital Specialization Level and Strategy Type

Han-Sung Kim et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Introduction: Hospitals are studying the focused factory concept and attempting to increase their power in a competitive industry by becoming more specialized.

Methodology: This study uses the information theory index (ITI) and the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) to analyze the extent of specialization by Korean hospitals that receive national health insurance reimbursements. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to assess the impact of hospital specialization on the following four aspects of operational performance: productivity, profitability, efficiency and quality of care.

Study results: The results show that a focused strategy (high HHI) improves the income and adjusted number of patients per specialist through the efficient utilization of human resources. However, a diversified strategy (high ITI) improves the hospital utilization ratio, income per bed and adjusted number of patients per bed (controlling for material resources such as beds). In addition, as the concentration index increases, case-mix mortality rates and referral rates decrease, indicating that specialization has a positive relationship with quality of care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Research Framework.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Robinson JC, Luft HS (1985) The impact of hospital market structure on patient volume, average length of stay, and the cost of care. J Health Econ 4: 333–356. - PubMed
    1. Begun JW, Kaissi AA (2004) Uncertainty in health care environments: myth or reality? Health Care Manage Rev 29: 31–39. - PubMed
    1. Luke RD, Begun JW, Walston SL (2000) Strategic making in health care organizations In: Shortell SM, Kaluzny AD, editors. Health Care Management: Organization Design and Behavior. 4th ed Albany: Delmar Publishers; pp. 394–431.
    1. Kilduff P (2002) Strategic and organizational response to increasing environmental turbulence in the textile and apparel industries. Int J New Prod Dev Innov Manag 4: 11–26.
    1. Skinner W (1974) The focused factory. Harv Bus Rev 52: 113–122.