The role of a clinic manager in a primary health care setting

Abstract

In this study the researcher attempted to determine the current role expectations of a clinic manager in a primary health care setting, to identify factors determining and influencing the role of a clinic manager, to determine what effect the current role expectations had on the management of primary health care services rendered at the clinic, to establish the developmental needs of clinic managers to enable them to adhere to their role expectations, and to identify and recommend measures to support clinic managers in the execution of their managerial role by addressing the identified deficiencies.

The researcher selected a quantitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design. Clinic managers of fixed clinics in the Free State province were randomly selected to participate in the study and a questionnaire was utilised as data-collection instrument.

The study found that the clinic manager's role is comprehensive and varies from telephonic booking patients to assessment of the quality of primary health care programmes. A number of non-managerial functions were identified, such as consultation of patients, management of medicine, dispensing of medicine and ordering of stock. It was also found that the respondents were not involved in a number of management functions such as financial and human resource management, and adherence to the implementation of standards.

Factors that negatively influenced the clinic managers' management role included:

* Lack of time due to the large number of patients they had to consult due to the shortage of staff. * Shortage of staff. * The execution of non-managerial tasks.

Although it was found that the current role of the clinic manager was confusing as it entailed much more than just clinic management, it is foreseen that the role of the clinic manager could in future be clarified if the recommendations are implemented.