Projekte

Diffusion of system and process innovations in the hospital sector: a three country comparison (Brachmann / Schubert (Fakultät für Medizin))

Setting
The hospital industries in the Netherlands, Germany and Japan are all facing very similar challenges. The increase in market based allocation mechanisms is leaving its mark. Additionally, the demographic change and the technological progress intensify the financial pressure and force hospitals to perform well. In this context consumer confidence is of major importance. But the answers given by the hospitals in the three countries regarding quality management and patient safety, the basis for gaining and retaining consumers’ trust, are quite diverse. While international observers are highlighting the Netherlands when it comes to innovative concepts in quality management and patient safety Germany is trying to catch up to her European neighbor. In Japan issues of quality management and patient safety were only recently introduced in the health care field. This is all the more surprising since Japanese manufacturers excel at developing, implementing and applying quality management systems.

Aim
Our aim is to understand which factors promote and which factors hinder the diffusion of system and process innovations in the hospital sector. We want to identify interdependencies to the diffusion of related innovations and analyze the role of a hospital’s internal power balance as well as the role of its socio-political and socio-cultural surroundings. By including these factors we want to fill a research gap in existing innovation theories.

Forschungspartner:

• National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan
• Kwaliteitsinstituut voor de Gezondheidszorg (CBO), Utrecht, the Netherlands