| Background: New public management (NPM) was developed as a management
reform to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in public organizations, especially in
health sector. Using the features of private sector management, the managers of health
organizations may try to implement the elements of NPM with the hope to improve the
performance of their systems. Aims: Our aim in the present study was to identify the
elements and infrastructures suitable for implementing NPM in the Iranian health
complex. Method: In this qualitative study with conventional content analysis
approach, we tried to explore the NPM elements and infrastructures in Iranian public
health sector. A series of semi-structured interviews (n= 48) were conducted in 2016 with
a managers in public and private health complex. Three focus group discussions with
nine faculty members were also conducted. A data collection form was used to collect
the demographic characteristics and perspectives of the participants. Findings: From
the perspective of managers, managerialism, decentralization, using market mechanism,
performance management, customer orientation and performance budgeting were
the main elements of NPM in the Iranian context. The most important infrastructures for
implementing this reform were as follows: education and training, information technology,
the proper use of human resources, decision support systems, top management
commitment, organizational culture, flexibility of rules, rehabilitating of the aging infrastructures,
and expanding the coverage of services. Conclusion: The NPM was
generally identified to be an effective replacement for the traditional administration
method. These reforms may be helpful in strengthening the public health complex and
the management capacity, as well. NPM also seems to be useful in interacting the public
health sector with the private sector in terms of personnel and resources, performance,
reward structure, and methods of doing business. |