ABSTRACT
Management in the health care system is similar to management in other industries in many respects. Budgets can also be fixed on a time frame as either flexible or fixed depending on whether adjustments are allowed during the course of a budget cycle or whether the budget may be adjusted as time goes along. A large hospital has a variety of communication systems. The medical record has been a major problem in the hospital from the beginning. The communications link with the pharmacy has been the prescription. Management information may take several tacks, all of which have been tried at one time or another, but except for one or two instances, have not been blended into a complete management system. Success in prevention of disease is almost solely a function of the degree of communication. Planning is a three-step process and all three steps must be in place before an adequate system is functional.
