The Case to Discard Hospital Mission Statements and Replace It with A Statement of Goals

Abstract

Background: Hospitals and healthcare institutions spend a considerable amount of time and capital on constructing an appropriate mission statement for themselves. Methods: A review of the purpose of mission statements and the statements made by different healthcare organizations was undertaken. For institutions in the USA, their mission statements were examined in the context of their national ratings. Results: The mission statements of healthcare organizations are often too abstract, using similar phraseology about caring for patients. Concern for the community that the hospital serves is stated by both a hospital listed as one of the best US hospitals and an institution that was considered to be in the lowest tier in the same country. Similarly, the recognition of ‘research’ or ‘innovation and discovery’ was stated by respectively both a top institution in the USA and one in the bottom tier. Conclusions: Healthcare institutions should replace their mission statements with clear and attainable statements of concrete goals, and indicate how successful the institution is at attaining those goals and improving the experience of its patients and staff.