Knowledge management practices in a reference hospital – from diagnosis to results. A case study

Abstract

More and more, manufacturing 4.0 has brought innovations to all kind of organizations, independent of their size. Nowadays, delighting the clients through an unforgettable experience is a must! To that extent, achieving high performance is needed; therefore, projects for knowledge management have been an object of study and research for those organizations. This study focuses on verifying the knowledge management practices applied at a reference hospital XYZ (over 200 beds and high complexity) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This research is based on a descriptive exploratory study, where a diagnosis over its ongoing projects helped to capture, what knowledge management practices are in place, amongst: Knowledge management culture (is there a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration? Is there a mentoring program?); Knowledge management tools (is there value added by selecting, implementing, and launching shared knowledge management tools?); Is there management compliance and integration? (Integration of knowledge management best practices into processes, programs, and teams); and finally, knowledge measurement and improvements. Analyzing or evaluating hospitals in Brazil is not an easy task. The literature offers little guidance on appropriate methodologies. Academic research shows a lack of competence in system management because most healthcare organizations had discussed knowledge management issues, but only a few of them had plans and structures for knowledge management (Karsikas et al. 2022). The available studies generally come from the United States and some European countries, and their results may not be applicable to low-or middle-income countries, which have fewer resources in the health field (Hujala et al. 2021). This citation reinforces the results encountered -knowledge management practices are not consolidated requiring more attention due to backwardness of knowledge management in the private hospital sector caused by a model created by hospital owners, generally doctors with family administration, who did not give due importance to the qualification and composition of the administrative structure.