E pluribus unum: using group model building with many interdependent organizations to create integrated health-care networks

Adv Health Care Manag. 2011:10:321-44. doi: 10.1108/s1474-8231(2011)0000010025.

Abstract

This chapter reports on an action research case study of integrated obstetric care in the Netherlands. Efficient and patient-friendly patient flows through integrated care networks are of major societal importance. How to design and develop such interorganizational patient flows is still a nascent research area, especially when dealing with a large number (n>3) of stakeholders. We have shown that a modification of an existing method to support interorganizational collaboration by system dynamics-based group model building (GMB) (the Renga method, Akkermans, 2001) may be effective in achieving such collaboration.

MeSH terms

  • Community Networks / organization & administration
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / organization & administration*
  • Health Services Research
  • Humans
  • Interinstitutional Relations*
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Models, Organizational
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Obstetrics / methods
  • Obstetrics / organization & administration*
  • Organizational Case Studies
  • Perinatal Mortality / trends
  • Quality Improvement*
  • Risk Assessment