Dream or reality? A recipe for sustainable and innovative health care ecosystems

Abstract

Purpose\ud Service ecosystems are gaining credence among management scholars. However, there is still little agreement about the distinguishing attributes of service ecosystems in both the public and the private sectors. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the health care service system, suggesting a “recipe” for the implementation of a sustainable and innovative health care service ecosystem.\ud \ud Design/methodology/approach\ud A mixed methodology was used. First, a critical literature review was conducted to lay the conceptual foundations of this study. Then a theory about the institutional, organizational and managerial requisites for the implementation of a health care service ecosystem was developed.\ud \ud Findings\ud The health care sector is appropriate for the core tenets of the service ecosystem perspective. Tailored interventions aimed at improving the functioning of the health care service ecosystem should be implemented at the micro, meso, macro and mega levels. Patient empowerment, patient-centered care and integrated care are the fundamental ingredients of the recipe for effective health care service ecosystems.\ud \ud Practical implications\ud The ecosystem approach provides health policy makers with interesting insights to help shape the health care service system of the future. The paper also contributes to the innovation of managerial practices emphasizing the role of patient involvement in the design and delivery of health care.\ud \ud Originality/value\ud This is one of the first attempts to systematize scientific knowledge about service ecosystems in the health care sector. An agenda for further research is suggested, in order to further advance the establishment of an effective and innovative health care service ecosystem

Online Value Co-Creation in the Healthcare Service Ecosystem: A Review

“…For example, social and emotional support from peer patients in the OHCs affected patients' perception regarding the service quality of healthcare organisations. Additionally, healthcare professionals should engage with patients and caregivers in co-designing and co-delivering health treatments (Palumbo et al 2017). At the meso level, based on the outcome of thematic analysis, healthcare organisations should attempt to provide healthcare environment that establishes a co-creation of value among actors in the healthcare domain (Palumbo et al 2017).…”

“…Additionally, healthcare professionals should engage with patients and caregivers in co-designing and co-delivering health treatments (Palumbo et al 2017). At the meso level, based on the outcome of thematic analysis, healthcare organisations should attempt to provide healthcare environment that establishes a co-creation of value among actors in the healthcare domain (Palumbo et al 2017). Healthcare organisations need to take a holistic view of service delivery, considering the critical areas of the co-creation process for providing an opportunity for patients for an active participatory role in healthcare as healthcare is a high participatory domain and it needs patients active participation to attain successful results (Osei-Frimpong et al 2015).…”

“…Healthcare organisations need to take a holistic view of service delivery, considering the critical areas of the co-creation process for providing an opportunity for patients for an active participatory role in healthcare as healthcare is a high participatory domain and it needs patients active participation to attain successful results (Osei-Frimpong et al 2015). At the macro and mega levels, governmental health agencies should be attentive about the role of vivid and cooperative interorganisational relationship in identifying the potential of value co-creation (Palumbo et al 2017). The mega level plays an essential role in establishing a healthcare service ecosystem (Palumbo et al 2017).…”

“…OHCs enable users to access, share, and recombine the resources in order to create online value in the healthcare ecosystem. As 8 studies out of 22 articles opined that for beneficial outcomes of value cocreation process, resources require to be combined with other resources (Beirão et al 2017;Chung 2013;Ciasullo et al 2017;Ciasullo et al 2016;Hammervoll 2014;Osei-Frimpong et al 2015;Palumbo et al 2017;van der Eijk et al 2013). As an example of online resource sharing, the patient assisted with this new knowledge can share and discuss with other patients on an OHC.…”

Value Co-creation in the Health Service Ecosystems: The Enabling Role of Institutional Arrangements

“…Embracing an ecosystem perspective, it is possible to represent health care system as a set of multiple interacting actors that share and re-combine their resources at all ecosystem levels to create mutual value (Rowe & Hogarth, 2005). This approach has pushed health care to go beyond the traditional and linear interaction at the root of patient-provider dyad (Gummesson, 2009), in an attempt to put at the core of its sustainability the evolving adaptiveness to complex and unpredictable environments (Palumbo, Cosimato, & Tommasetti, 2017). Health outcomes rise from the above-mentioned adaptation, that is actors' ability and disposition to share, exchange and create new resources, through the implementation of specific and collaborative practices.…”