GOOD MEDICINE - A CASE-STUDY OF BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING IN A HOSPITAL

Business pocess re-engineering (BPR) is one of the latest approaches t o improving organisational performance. It evolved in the US private s ector, and has been introduced to Britain and the British public secto r, offering radical improvement from radical redesign. This article co nsiders the nature of BPR (and there is more than one variety) and the suitability of its application to the public sector in general and to hospitals in particular. The authors then evaluate the experience and impact of BPR in a London hospital trust. The article concludes by hi ghlighting factors that help to explain the particular example of BPR and draws out some implications for its wider use in the public sector .