Reforms of health care delivery in Slovakia and their impact on performance of hospitals: quality of services and quality of financial management

Our paper consists of introductory and main parts, plus conclusions, drawn on macro and microanalysis of selected aspects of the given problem. Its two starting parts create the basis for further explanation, describing general trends of the Slovak health policy and ways how these policies were incorporated into reform documents, and implemented. Three core parts focus on important public policy and public management issues. First of them tries to assess outcomes of health reforms in Slovakia in two selected fields (quality of hospital services and quality of hospital financial management), searching for appropriate methods and techniques for monitoring the outcomes of reform implementation, including indicators that are or could be used. The second core chapter tries to find answer, why outcomes are not very much positive, at least in short term point of view. It seems that both policy formulation and policy implementation failed. Our findings support the evidence from the practice of policy making, showing that the stage of implementation is extremely weak in Central and East European countries, but adding, policy formulation is not always of proper quality, too. The last core part tries to identify some major factors, retarding the successful implementation of reform policies.