History of Health Services Management

History of Health Services Management

Hospitals, particularly compared with its earliest days, could play a very different role in the future as part of an integrated collection of providers and sites of care.
Health Care Services Management has a long history but a short past in Asia. In the last part of last century health care management was done by a single or couple of doctors. At present, it is well organized that this is a scientific discipline and requires a mathematical approach with high professionalism.

Higher quality and cost-effective care is often equated with access to the modern technology and medication. But this should go hand in hand with the efficient utilization of health administrators.

To venture into the future we need to remember the lessons of the past. With that in mind let us turn into the history of Health services Management :

• Medicine and hospital as political factors.
• We often ignore the relationship of medicine to political, sometimes socio-economic affairs and prevailing social attitudes.
• Management of diseases started before the beginning of civilization because illnesses came first on earth.
• Early medical treatment was always identified with religious activities and services.
• In fact, religious leaders were working as doctors.
• They were part of the policy makers and their places of worship were also assembly places.
• The role of these 'medicine men' and their places of worship as training schools for doctors were closely associated with development of health services management.
• The recent collaboration between health care structure and its transmigration from North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia are further examples of the inter relationship between Health Care delivery systems and processes.