Managing healthcare reform in Hungary: challenges and opportunities.

The past 15 years in Hungary have been characterised by unique changes. Apart from democratisation and managing the immediate crises caused by the collapse of the economy in the early 1990s, a strong part of the reforms was a desire to build Western models of health care and the necessary social and economic infrastructure. Hungary was forced to start substantial reengineering of health services that requires a recognition of the interdependency between policy making and implementation and the management of change. Policy making and managing organisations are generally viewed as fundamentally different. Even a quick review of the reforms ongoing in Hungarian health care, however, challenges this perspective. Policy and management are highly interrelated and the management of change is critical to successful implementation of policy. We examined some of the factors that facilitate or limit change and recommend action for improving the management of these processes.