IIM-B launches hospital management course

Bengaluru: Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar inaugurated hospital management course at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) here on Friday.

Speaking at the event, Sudhakar said, "This is like a dream come true for me." The new course will make the health delivery system holistic in both private and government hospitals."

The one-year course called, Professional Certificate in Hospital Management, by the IIM in association with Dr Devi Shetty, will span a total of 10 subjects, including principles of financing, management, economics and strategy. The course will be online as well as one-day offline to those who are willing to attend.

The online-synchronous programme is a combination of massive open online courses (MOOCs) by IIM-B faculty, and live online sessions by industry experts and professionals, the institute said in a statement on Wednesday.

It added that the programme, started on National Doctors' Day, aims to benefit healthcare professionals, mid-level managers, healthcare consultants, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

The minister said that a total of 160 candidates have registered for the course and urged more people to join it.

"From the time I became the Health Minister, there used to be one permanent agenda on each review meeting with the department – how to train our doctors in administration and management. This is because good or bad management will be the difference between life or death in the medical profession."

"I wanted officials at the administrative level such as District Health Officers, Medical College Deans, District Surgeons, State Program Officers and Joint Directors to be trained in management as people will get better quality healthcare," he added.

"Most of them are experts in their fields but they are not well-versed in the principles of management, thereby reducing the efficiency of functioning and optimal utilisation of the resources. This new course will not just be useful to Karnataka but also our entire country."

In a tweet, Sudhakar said, "I recall the first time I spoke with IIM Director Rishikesha T Krishnan and Dr Devi Shetty about plugging the managerial skill gaps amongst doctors and healthcare workers to ensure that hospitals, especially in the public sector, are run professionally and efficiently."