Change Management – Obstacles and Perspectives for the Integration of Changes in Greek Public Hospitals

Change management is the process of continuously updating the direction, structure and capabilities of an organization; it includes principles, methods and practices which are necessary to identify, process, and effectively manage changes in businesses and organizations. Health units are unique organizations with increased complexity, multidimensional goals and personnel diversity, operating in a constantly evolving environment. Changes in healthcare units are therefore ongoing, but their implementation is extremely difficult, since people with different outcomes’ orientation should work together. This paper aims to clarify issues of change managing in healthcare units and in particular to reveal if there is a necessity for change in Greek public hospitals. If that is the case, the paper will investigate if hospital managers have the tools and the expertise to identify the needs for change and subsequently to manage the conditions of reformation. Hence the paper aims to provide answers to the following research questions: Are the tools for change being used efficiently by the hospital managers? How health personnel experience change in health care settings? What are the expectations for employees from the implementation of changes in hospitals? Are employees in Greek hospitals prone to change? Under which circumstances would they better adapt to change, embracing the need for reformation? The paper concludes that if change management is applied in Greek public hospitals, multifaceted benefits will derive from managing change successfully and thus achieving high levels of organizational effectiveness. The research was carried out in Kalamata’s Hospital and was addressed to medical and administrative personnel. Questioners were filled in by 164 employees (out of the distributed 200) over the period of November 2017 to December 2017. The paper aims to contribute to the management of Greek hospitals by the implementation of change management. JEL classification numbers: M10, M12, M14Keywords: Change management, Resistance to change, Motivation, Cooperation.