Understandably, for a hospital to run effectively, all leaders and decision makers must be on the same page and adhere to the organization’s strategic outline. However, this is not always possible because of various factors and differences of opinion. All in all, the medical staff, board of trustees, and administration, are critical in the smooth functioning of a hospital, but sometimes problems do arise. In general, the medical staff, board of trustees, and administration each have varying perspectives about issues and the individuals within each area of governance think differently and may come up with varying solutions. For example, there may be differences in opinion regarding services to provide clients, or how to improve the quality and accessibility of the healthcare system. Also, the financials of a hospital are never ignored, which may lead to strife within the organization. In some instances, the board of trustees may refuse changes with staff or may not want to encourage implementing a new clinical service. In another situation, the administration may want to implement stricter rules or new processes that the staff may not appreciate. Unfortunately, egos clash in almost all organizations, and some individuals have personal hidden agendas that cause havoc within a healthcare system. Surprisingly, there is a decent amount of internal turmoil within many hospitals throughout the United States. Regardless of operational differences between departments, hospital leaders must do their due diligence before instituting new laws because the priority is to provide the best possible care to patients at an affordable rate.
Furthermore, there are some other factors and details that may prevent medical staff, board of trustees, and administration, from working in harmony. Remember, hospitals must be accredited, while following government regulations and rules, in order to be considered a legitimate institution, and the board of directors are given special authorities in most situations. Basically, under some circumstances, the medical staff is not going to agree with all of the decisions made by the board of directors, but each individual must understand their role and work within that framework. Usually, all significant decisions must be approved by the board of an organization, and other employees and staff have to accept and understand that fact. In addition, many clinicians feel they are smarter than administration, and do not like taking orders from them. For example, clinicians do not appreciate being forced to use certain technologies or new systems and as a result, may not comply with certain rules. In summary, clinicians, administration, and board of trustees all come from different cultures, while thinking and acting differently, which sometimes make healthcare systems appear dysfunctional and unorganized.
