Developing Characteristics and Competences of a Health Care Manager: Literature Review

Identifying factors affecting the selection of heads of city health centers in Iran: A phenomenological study

INTRODUCTION

Managers in the health care sector have the responsibility of accomplishing objectives and guaranteeing the excellence of services. To be chosen as a manager in a health organization, individuals must possess specific qualities and skills. Examining the process of selecting and appointing managers at the highest level of service provision might offer policymakers valuable insights into the importance of considering competences when choosing and appointing leaders of health centers. Hence, this study was conducted to identify the characteristics that influence the selection process of heads of city health centers in Iran.

METHODS

The present study employed a qualitative and phenomenological approach, utilizing interviews performed in the year 2023. The study sample consisted of health deputy from medical sciences universities, local health network managers, and heads of city health center. The participants were selected using a purposive selection method. A total of 16 male participants were interviewed, and the interviews were then analyzed using MAXQDA-10 software using the usual content analysis method.

RESULTS

In this study, the factors affecting the selection of the heads of health care centers were classified into two general topics: individual factors and environmental factors, and eight sub-topics, including health literacy, experience, individual characteristics, communication skills, mental characteristics, legal issues, political factors, and cultural factors.

CONCLUSION

The development of health literacy, specialized knowledge, and communication skills to coordinate and resolve organizational problems helps train competent managers. Top health system managers, who select health center managers, must understand political and cultural variables and regulate and steer their influence to select effective managers.

Promises and Hurdles of Medical Tourism Development in the Russian Federation

Background: Development of medical tourism improves access to healthcare in countries where the necessary medical procedures are not available or accessible to its citizens. In the country of destination, medical tourism stimulates economic development and raises the quality of healthcare provided. There are both microeconomic and macroeconomic factors affecting the development of medical tourism. Microeconomic factors relate to the receivers and providers of healthcare. Macroeconomic factors relate to the government policy being implemented to support the development of medical tourism. This study aims to identify factors affecting the development of medical tourism in Russia.

Methodology: An expert survey of 36 heads of medical organizations in Russia was conducted to assess the problems that impede the development of the medical care system to foreign patients in Russia, as well as propose possible solutions. The degree of covariation among experts was calculated using the Kendall concordance coefficient.

Results: The experts gave consistent evaluation to numerous sets of problems that impede the development and proposed concrete measures for the development of inbound medical tourism in Russia. These measures ranged from microeconomic to macroeconomic approaches and were directed toward a holistic and coordinated development of medical tourism within Russia.

Conclusion: Based on the results, Russia has several micro- and macroeconomic competitive advantages and disadvantages in facilitating medical tourism. The study yielded a set of measures for the development of inbound medical tourism and the promotion of the export of medical services in the Russian Federation, which can be extended to other countries or parties who are seeking to develop medical tourism.