Use of economic tools in Czech hospitals

The aim of this article is to analyze the current situation in hospitals in terms of using economic management methods. The need to implement modern management tools in healthcare has accelerated as the global economic crisis has increased pressure to cut costs in the public sphere. A number of countries have implemented major health care reforms in recent years that were particularly aimed at increasing accountability for results, promoting efficient spending of resources, reducing bureaucracy, and securing sustainable development for the whole system. The system of providing services gradually transferred the risk of loss from local governments to private providers. The evolving competitive environment then increased emphasis on rationalizing the consumption of resources. Despite budgetary constraints, it is clear that the demand for health services grows, due to an aging population and a dynamic increase in chronic disease. An accurate estimate of costs for specific health services and the cost of care for individual patients is critical for effective management of health systems. A number of studies have examined the use of individual managerial and economic methods in the hospital environment. One of the methods used in health care is benchmarking. Among other managerial methods used in health care is the balanced scorecard, which comes from the private sector. It is a tool for managing the implementation of corporate strategy and the completion of measurement systems that operate in several dimensions. Health organizations are also often criticized for poor performance management practices and violations of quality standards. The article presents the results of a survey conducted in Czech hospitals in 2016. Furthermore, we examine whether the tools used by hospitals lead to increased efficiency. We evaluate whether the use of modern economic tools is beneficial to the management of hospitals. Questionnaire results are further compared with results obtained in other countries, such as the USA, Canada, England, Italy, and Spain. To conclude, we discuss the limitations of the study and the possibility of further research in this area.