The entrepreneurial orientation of general practitioners-Current theory and practice in the Czech Republic.

BACKGROUND: Since 2010, the Czech Republic has been experiencing a spontaneous phenomenon in which General Practitioner (GPs) practices have been transferred to a legal limited liability company as defined by the Commercial Code. OBJECTIVES: Our research attempted to ascertain the reasons that induced GPs to change their legal form, thereby opting for an entrepreneurial orientation (EO). A second objective was to measure the impact of this change on the healthcare performance of GP practices. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: We used exploratory research to examine this phenomenon in healthcare service provision. Data from 131 questionnaires was evaluated using an exploratory survey with descriptive statistics. To assess the healthcare performance of GP practices, we used secondary data from the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic. FINDINGS: The GPs interviewed considered their practices to be businesses. Their decision to change to a limited company form was influenced by the possibility of selling or transferring the business, employment sustainability and job security, and advantages related to cost structure and taxation. Our study shows that, in a generational exchange, the change in legal form enhances the sustainability and operation of the practice within the context of the current demands for high-quality healthcare.

Data on work-related consequences of COVID-19 pandemic for employees across Europe.

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the work of employees across all continents. This article presents raw data that may be used to describe how the pandemic affected the work of employees in four European countries and how it influenced their job attitudes, feelings and work performance. In total, 726 respondents from Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy filled out an extensive online survey and provided information about changes in their workload, work difficulty, income, social contact, work from home, task performance and organizational commitment during the pandemic, and about the risk of being infected by COVID-19 during their workday. The employees also reported their actual work performance, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intention to leave and irritation in the time of the pandemic. To reveal factors that might help employees cope with pandemic, the respondents filled out established questionnaires measuring servant leadership of their supervisor, perceived organizational support, social support provided by colleagues, their own occupational self-efficacy, resilience, job crafting and readiness for change. The data is unique as it was collected in a specific situation during the pandemic, when the work of employees was affected by security measures and lockdown introduced by governments in countries where they worked.

Corporate governance in Czech hospitals after the transformation.

BACKGROUND: This contribution is a response to the current issue of corporate governance in hospitals in the Czech Republic, which draw a significant portion of funds from public health insurance. This not only has a significant impact on the economic efficiency of hospitals, but ultimately affects the whole system of healthcare provision in the Czech Republic. Therefore, the effectiveness of the corporate governance of hospitals might affect the fiscal stability of the health system and, indirectly, health policy for the whole country. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the success of the transformation in connection with the performance of corporate governance in hospitals in the Czech Republic. Specifically, there was an examination of the management differences in various types of hospitals, which differed in their ownership structure and legal form. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A sample of 100 hospitals was investigated in 2009, i.e., immediately after the transformation had been completed, and then three years later in 2012. With regard to the different public support of individual hospitals, the operating subsidies were removed from the economic results of the corporations in the sample. The adjusted economic results were first of all examined in relationship to the type of hospital (according to owner and legal form), and then in relation to its size, the size of the supervisory board and the education level of the senior hospital manager. A multiple median regression was used for the evaluation. FINDINGS: One of the basic findings was the fact that the hospital's legal form had no influence on economic results. Successful management in the form of adjusted economic results is only associated with the private type of facility ownership. From the perspective of our concept of corporate governance other factors were under observation: the size of the hospital, the size of the supervisory board and the medical qualifications of the senior manager had no statistically verifiable influence on the efficiency of the hospital management, though we did record certain developments as a result of the transformation process. The economic results that were reported were significantly distorted by the operating subsidies from the founder. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The results can be used immediately on several practical levels: on the macro level as part of the state's formulation of health policy, particularly in the optimization of the structure of healthcare providers, as well as for the completion of reforms in legal forms and hospital founders, and on the micro level as part of the effective administration and governance of hospitals through corporate governance regardless of the form of ownership.

An inquiry into good hospital governance: a New Zealand-Czech comparison.

BACKGROUND: This paper contributes to research in health systems literature by examining the role of health boards in hospital governance. Health care ranks among the largest public sectors in OECD countries. Efficient governance of hospitals requires the responsible and effective use of funds, professional management and competent governing structures. In this study hospital governance practice in two health care systems - Czech Republic and New Zealand - is compared and contrasted. These countries were chosen as both, even though they are geographically distant, have a universal right to 'free' health care provided by the state and each has experienced periods of political change and ensuing economic restructuring. Ongoing change has provided the impetus for policy reform in their public hospital governance systems. METHODS: Two comparative case studies are presented. They define key similarities and differences between the two countries' health care systems. Each public hospital governance system is critically analysed and discussed in light of D W Taylor's nine principles of 'good governance'. RESULTS: While some similarities were found to exist, the key difference between the two countries is that while many forms of 'ad hoc' hospital governance exist in Czech hospitals, public hospitals in New Zealand are governed in a 'collegiate' way by elected District Health Boards. These findings are discussed in relation to each of the suggested nine principles utilized by Taylor. CONCLUSION: This comparative case analysis demonstrates that although the New Zealand and Czech Republic health systems appear to show a large degree of convergence, their approaches to public hospital governance differ on several counts. Some of the principles of 'good governance' existed in the Czech hospitals and many were practiced in New Zealand. It would appear that the governance styles have evolved from particular historical circumstances to meet each country's specific requirements. Whether or not current practice could be improved by paying closer attention to theoretical models of 'good governance' is debatable.