The main objectives of this module are:

1. Understanding the basic concepts of intervention and coordination as developed in the policy sciences and management sciences in relation to the triple aim.
2. Knowledge and understanding of the prospects and constraints for healthcare providers.
3. Application of these concepts on healthcare related problems and challenges.
4. Reflection on the normative aspects of intervention and coordination in health policy systems and healthcare organisations

 

The module

This course aims to introduce to students of the master in Biomedical Sciences, the concepts, theories and practicalities of the policy sciences and management sciences for analyzing processes of intervention and coordination in the healthcare arena. The course introduces key concepts from the policy sciences (policy analysis, policy intervention and implementation, decision making and coordination) and the management sciences.
We will bridge the macro level of healthcare systems, the meso level of formal stakeholders and interest groups as well as the micro  level of healthcare organizations. We illustrate the core (underlying) mechanisms that influence the developments and relations among these systems, actors and organizations. We will use real life policymaking and management cases, especially those that relate to the (fiscal) sustainability of health systems and providers. This course aims to draw lessons on the political and  institutional conditions required  to  make successful change possible to accomplish better quality of care at acceptable costs.
Students do  also get a thorough insight among the different type of healthcare systems and provider types as well as their behavior policy strategies and management capabilities. Main types of organizing healthcare systems (the UK, Germany, the US, and the Netherlands) will be discussed and their performance will be analyzed. We also present international best-practice of health care delivery organizations and discuss why they work and how they may or may not spread across institutional ‘borders’.
Together we develop and use a framework for analyzing healthcare organizations and their embeddedness in health systems for a better understanding of the nature of management problems and the different proposals of policymakers.