The Performance of Slovenian Hospitals: The Development of Sustainable Business Model

Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Slovenian Government ended the project of rehabilitating Slovenian hospitals that showed negative financial operations by the end of 2016. The special Government Act provided one-time financial compensation and simultaneously tasked the hospitals with preparing rehabilitation programs. A case study applied the rehabilitation programs of 12 Slovenian hospitals and interviews with the directors of individual hospitals to collect data. In-depth analysis revealed several shortcomings that were identified and addressed with measures outlined in the rehabilitation programs. Most of them extend to the areas of activity, financial operations, and health services. The study results suggest that the transformation of the current operating mode of Slovenian hospitals in the direction of creating a sustainable business model would require the definition of sustainable objectives, reorganization and coordination of various institutional factors, and the support of such reform through normative and other systemic measures.