Summary of Managing the Myths of Health Care

Management guru Henry Mintzberg brings his contrarian, astute advice to health care. After an indictment of dysfunctional “health care systems” worldwide – particularly in the United States and Canada – he prescribes greater collaboration, less competition and more emphasis on cause over cure. From the folly of “managerial fads” to simplistic government fixes, Mintzberg argues that health care suffers from weak leadership and trendy strategy. To his way of thinking, only on-the-ground management can fix it. While health care must include specialists, he says, it should overcome the divisions among physicians, administrators and providers. Such silos reinforce entrenched hierarchies and undermine patient care. While always politically neutral, getAbstract thinks health care professionals, administrators, policy makers, politicians, patients and investors will find food for thought in Mintzberg’s analysis.