Doctors make the best managers, study concludes – BMJ

A qualified doctor was the chief executive in 51 of the top 100 cancer hospitals in the US, 34 of the best 100 hospitals for digestive disorders, and 37 of the top 100 cardiac hospitals.

Amanda Goodall, a senior research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labour in Bonn, Germany, looked at the 100 hospitals that performed best in 2009 in each of three specialties—cancer, digestive disorders, and cardiovascular care and surgery—as ranked by the well established US News and World Report league tables, which look at hospitals’ performance in 16 specialties. She then ascertained whether the hospitals’ chief executive officers were doctors or professional managers.

Of the 21 hospitals ranked highest in the league tables’ “Honor Roll”—those that performed well in at least six of the 16 specialties—16 had chief executives who were doctors.