Hospital Reorganization and Restructuring Achieved Through Merger

Abstract

This article examines hospital reorganization and restructuring activities following merger for two study periods: 1983-1988 and 1989-1996. In both periods, hospitals rated strengthening hospital financial position as the most important reason for merger. There were also similarities in reorganizing actions, especially reductions in service duplication, consolidation of departments and programs, reductions in medical and support FTEs, and reductions in administrative staffing. Hospital mergers during 1989-1996, however, focused increasingly on reducing nursing FTEs and less on converting acquired hospitals to new service lines.

The effect of hospital mergers on long-term sickness absence among hospital employees: a fixed effects multivariate regression analysis using panel data

“…This effect may be explained by the internal changes that take place after mergers. Other studies have shown that merging hospitals have a higher degree of internal organizational change compared with stable hospitals [47], and that the main intention of mergers is to trigger such change [48,49]. We assume that any internal changes should be implemented 2 to 3 years into the merger, and this explains the significant effect of mergers in later years.…”

Dynamic analysis of interhospital collaboration and competition: Empirical evidence from an Italian regional health system

“…Policies aimed at improving hospitals' financial performance and at enhancing and differentiating their reputation in the marketplace are compatible and do not preclude hospitals from responding to the contingent need of coordination through patient sharing [28,61].…”

“…Through collaboration, hospital organizations utilize resources more efficiently, facilitate access to other providers' information and clinical expertise [21], and pursue common goals [22]. The propensity of hospitals to form cooperative agreements with other providers is positively associated with their quality of care [23], operational efficiency [24,25], and financial performance [26][27][28]. Extant research documents numerous outcomes of hospital competition, primarily related to the costs, access, and quality of hospital services [29].…”

Hospital Mergers in Norway: Employee Health and Turnover to Three Destinations

“…Notably, professional employees, such as registered nurses and physicians, may have few job options outside the hospital sector, at least outside the big cities. Bazzoli et al (2002) suggest that hospital mergers in the USA during both the 80s and 90s were followed by substantial organizational change, and that this was among the main stated reasons for the merger. On the other hand, Fulop et al (2005) argue that in the NHS, which shares more similarities with the Norwegian hospital sector, the context of the public sector with multiple stakeholders, conflicting objectives, and strong professions make a merger process more complex.…”