Book Review: Quality Management in Hospitals (2nd Edition), Dr S K Joshi
Guest article by Dr Ashok Jahnavi Prasad In no other public activity is the outcome as dependent on efficient management as it is in healthcare delivery. It is therefore completely astounding to note the sparse attention that has been accorded to the crucial discipline of hospital management. Only in the last two decades has the specialty been extended the legitimate attention that is its due. This apathy has been historically global. Hospital administrators were looked upon with a degree of disdain. Most of the hospital superintendents in my medical school days (more than four decades ago) had gravitated to that position after a prolonged clinical career when it was presumed that they had acquired all the skills necessary to function effectively as administrators. The need for specialized training was completely unappreciated. In fairness some of them did demonstrate efficiency but for most it was a welcome sabbatical from years of clinical overload. Some of the top hospit