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Strategic Purchasing in Practice: Comparing Ten European Countries

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  • Klasa, Katarzyna
  • Greer, Scott L.
  • van Ginneken, Ewout

Abstract

Strategic purchasing of health care services is widely recommended as a policy instrument. We conducted a review of literature of material drawn from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies Health Systems in Transition series, other European Observatory databases, and selected country-specific literature to augment the comparative analysis by providing the most recent healthcare trends in ten selected countries. There is little evidence of purchasing being strategic according to any of the established definitions. There is little or no literature suggesting that existing purchasing mechanisms in Europe deliver improved population health, citizen empowerment, stronger governance and stewardship, or develop purchaser organization and capacity. Strategic purchasing has not generally been implemented. Policymakers considering adopting strategic purchasing policies should be aware of this systemic implementation problem. Policymakers in systems with strategic purchasing built into policy should not assume that a purchasing system is strategic or that it is delivering any expected objectives. However, there are individual components of strategic purchasing that are worth pursuing and can provide benefits to health systems.

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  • Klasa, Katarzyna & Greer, Scott L. & van Ginneken, Ewout, 2018. "Strategic Purchasing in Practice: Comparing Ten European Countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(5), pages 457-472.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:122:y:2018:i:5:p:457-472
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.01.014
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    1. Thomas Reindersma & Isabelle Fabbricotti & Kees Ahaus & Sandra Sülz, 2022. "Integrated Payment, Fragmented Realities? A Discourse Analysis of Integrated Payment in the Netherlands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Elisabeth Paul & N’koué Emmanuel Sambiéni & Jean-Pierre Wangbe & Fabienne Fecher & Marc Bourgeois, 2020. "Budgeting challenges on the path towards universal health coverage: the case of Benin," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Noort, Bart A.C. & Ahaus, Kees & van der Vaart, Taco & Chambers, Naomi & Sheaff, Rod, 2020. "How healthcare systems shape a purchaser’s strategies and actions when managing chronic care," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(6), pages 628-638.
    4. Gifford, Rachel & Molleman, Eric & van der Vaart, Taco, 2024. "It's a jungle out there: Understanding physician payment and its role in group dynamics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).
    5. Smith, Peter C. & Sagan, Anna & Siciliani, Luigi & Figueras, Josep, 2023. "Building on value-based health care: Towards a health system perspective," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    6. Atour Taghipour & Moein Khazaei & Adel Azar & Ali Rajabzadeh Ghatari & Mostafa Hajiaghaei-Keshteli & Mohammad Ramezani, 2022. "Creating Shared Value and Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility through Outsourcing within Supply Chain Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-25, February.
    7. Mladovsky, Philipa, 2020. "Fragmentation by design: Universal health coverage policies as governmentality in Senegal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    8. Montás, Marie C. & Klasa, Katarzyna & van Ginneken, Ewout & Greer, Scott L., 2022. "Strategic purchasing and health systems resilience: Lessons from COVID-19 in selected European countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(9), pages 853-864.
    9. Bart A C Noort & Taco van der Vaart & Kees Ahaus, 2021. "Orchestration versus bookkeeping: How stakeholder pressures drive a healthcare purchaser’s institutional logics," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-24, October.
    10. Dohmen, Peter J.G. & van Raaij, Erik M., 2019. "A new approach to preferred provider selection in health care," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 300-305.
    11. Stolk-Vos, Aline C. & Attema, Arthur E. & Manzulli, Michele & van de Klundert, Joris J., 2022. "Do patients and other stakeholders value health service quality equally? A prospect theory based choice experiment in cataract care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    12. Ramos Bruna & Silva João & Vila-Chã António & Azevedo Henrique & Ramos João & Ferreira Ana Cristina, 2024. "Influence of Demand on Supplier Selection Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process: A Case Study Validation in the Textile Industry," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 15(1), pages 178-200.
    13. Elisabeth Paul & Garrett Wallace Brown & Valéry Ridde, 2020. "Misunderstandings and ambiguities in strategic purchasing in low‐ and middle‐income countries," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/309855, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    14. Elisabeth Paul & N'koué Emmanuel Sambiéni & Jean-Pierre Wangbe & Fabienne Fecher & Marc Bourgeois, 2020. "Budgeting challenges on the path towards universal health coverage: the case of Benin," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/312499, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Akmal, Adeel & Gauld, Robin, 2021. "What components are important for effective healthcare alliance governance? Findings from a modified Delphi study in New Zealand," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(2), pages 239-245.

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