Purpose – Better Health, Better Care Action Plan (Scottish Government, 2007) sets out how the Scottish Government intends to strengthen public ownership of the National Health Service in Scotland. The purpose of this paper is to advance extant knowledge by understanding how a state-led mutual...

Purpose – This paper reports from a qualitative case study of a change initiative undertaken in a Danish public hospital setting during national healthcare reforms. The purpose of this paper is to challenge understandings of innovations as defined by being value-adding per se . Whether the...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present lessons learnt through the development of an evaluation framework for a clinical redesign programme – the aim of which was to improve the patient journey through improved discharge practices within an Australian public hospital....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to prioritize 21 healthcare wastes in public and private hospitals of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach – Seven healthcare wastes linked with lean management are further decomposed in to sub-criteria and to deal with this...

Purpose Hospitals have used process redesign to increase the efficiency of the emergency department (ED) to cope with increasing demand. While there are published studies suggesting a positive outcome, recent reviews have reported that it is difficult to conclude that these approaches are...

Purpose Public engagement in health technology assessment (HTA) is increasingly considered crucial for good decision making. Determining the “right” type of engagement activity is key in achieving the appropriate consideration of public values. Little is known about the factors that...

Purpose Over the last decade there has been considerable debate about the merits of targets as a policy instrument. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation of two health targets that were cornerstones of New Zealand health policy between 2009 and 2012: immunisation rates for...

Purpose From the late 1980s and onwards health care in Sweden has come under increasing financial pressure, forcing policy makers to consider restrictions. The purpose of this paper is to review experiences and to establish lessons of formal priority setting in four Swedish regional health...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the under-representation of women physicians in clinical leadership by examining the issue from their perspective. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used large group engagement methods to explore the experiences and perceptions of...

Purpose – Many developed countries have seen significant reforms of their health systems for the last few decades. Despite extensive investment in these changes, health systems still face a range of challenges which reform efforts do not seem to have overcome. The purpose of this paper is to...