Many a time we are asked to answer what outlook of conflict management in clinics we do have. Our day-to-day practical experience and notices enable us to draw a precise picture of the future reality and importance of conflict management in clinics.

• Clinics are organizations that differ from conventional companies, first and foremost in view of the object and the practice of service provision. Their success depends on high reliability, security and the absence of disturbances and failures. In clinics, conflicts count as one of the most sensible disturbances and failure factors. In consideration of the advancing self-administration and self-responsibility in the health care sector, clinics of any orientation and size are commited to professionally facing up to the causes and negative effects of interpersonal conflicts, not least because of patient's security.
  
  
• Many clinics that have understood conflict management as synonym for conflict-handling or conflict-resolution and which have practiced conflict management as such are sitting on a powder keg and will not be capable of stopping certain processes that have already run out of the rudder due to misconceived conflict management.
  
  
• Employees', patients', politics', insurances', healthcare carriers' as well as other stakeholders' claims towards clinics to practice effective and efficient conflict management in order to cope with their responsibilities towards employees and patients will increase and catch many clinics flat-footed.
  
  
• Clinical conflict management will self-evidently determine the mission statements of clinics. Conflict management will together with other functional parts of general management be a regular part of an integrated management system like clinical quality and risk management as naturally as these are already today. International standards and certificates will assure the compliance with basic conditions for conflict management in clinics.
  
  
• Clinics practicing effective and efficient conflict management will be able to communicate this outwards, in particular to their patients, and therewith secure a competitive advantage.