FINANCIAL AND CLINICAL-PERFORMANCE - BRIDGING THE GAP

The article explores the relationship between the cost and the quality of hospital care by elaborating a conceptual model of hospital perfor mance. The model relates the financial health status Of an organizatio n (financial integrity) to the quality of care provided by that organi zation (clinical integrity) within an environment that is characterize d by various forms of risk. The model suggests that both concepts dete rmine the corporate destiny (success, bankruptcy, or merger) of the or ganization. If this model proves valid empirically, the results could be used as an early warning system to identify hospitals that might ex perience financial or clinical distress.