considerable time and effort. Its value for program 

 planning, management, supervision, and evaluation 

 purposes is often minimal, however, because what the 

 administrator needs to know for improved decision 

 making and supervision is seldom emphasized in the 

 design of management information systems. An 

 information system that focuses on the identification 

 and care of severely ill, malnourished, or otherwise 

 high-risk children may be more useful than a system 

 requiring the time-consuming collection and reporting 

 of a more comprehensive body of data. Both the United 

 States and developing countries stand to benefit from 

 wider application of this approach in health sector 

 management. 



Rationale for Selecting this Topic 



Management institutes in many developing countries 

 are already directing more attention to the health 

 sector. The International Committee on the Management 

 of Population Programs also has experience in this 

 field. The potential for U.S. participation is colored 

 by an apparent paradox. On the one hand, this country 

 is characterized by a distinctly pragmatic, problem- 

 solving orientation and considerable experience with 

 the development and use of management systems. On the 

 other hand, U.S. domestic progress in managing primary 

 health care has lagged, so that attention to the issues 

 addressed above could substantially benefit this 

 country as well as developing countries. In short, 

 this is a field in which the United states has much to 

 learn as well as to offer. 



However, one important constraint should be noted. 

 The application of basic management principles involves 

 questions of management style that are behavioral and 

 highly culture-specific. Even within the United 

 States, the health sector and industry have 

 distinctively different management features. Thus the 

 U.S. role is likely to be somewhat limited and 

 specialized, although local adaptation of management 

 systems and in-country development of management 

 competence deserve strong support. 



Proposed Initiatives 



Initiatives that the United States could offer 

 relate to the three concerns discussed above. 



Management Personnel . U.S. training programs in 

 hospital administration are being broadened to 

 encompass health services administration generally- 

 Moreover, schools of business are joining schools of 



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