Sv/Eng: Från allmänsjukhus till antroposofiskt-integrativt sjukhus/Organisational development from a community hospital to an anthroposophic-integrative hospital

Abstract

This paper describes the extensive change management process of Gemeinschafts­krankenhaus Havelhoehe in Berlin, Germany, from a community hospital practicing mainstream medicine to a patient- and employee-centered hospital offering integrative Anthroposophic Medicine. A radical reorganisation of the hospital structure from a hierarchical to a flat organization was the central change process, resulting in the implementation of an innovative leadership-model (responsibility-teams) on a micro and meso management level. In parallel, a comprehensive training of the medical staff in Anthroposophic Medicine as well as in-house training in hospital management and leadership for the members of the newly established interprofessional and interdisciplinary ‘responsibility teams’ were effective strategies in the change process. The success of this change could be shown not only in a high ranking in patient satisfaction surveys but also in an increased economic efficiency, involving the highest regional growth regarding number of patients, effective cost weight, budget and a significant reduction of length of patient stay.