Organisation and Management of Intensive Care ─ A Prospective Study in 12 European Countries

This book presents the prospective multidisciplinary analysis of intensive care units in Europe from a health services research perspective. The hypothesis examined was that variables of the non-clinical management and organisation of intensive care units do influence the outcome of patient care. The research work was done by teams of various disciplines such as medicine, nursing, health services research, occupational psychology, economics, organisation, methodology, and statistics. The work was divided into 6 substudies: patients and facilities, organisation, personnel, culture, finances, and observational field work. Each substudy is presented as an independent approach to the ICU as a health care subsystem. The book is aimed at health care authorities and hospital management.