Abstract

The pressure on our healthcare system is increasing. Amongst other things, this is due to increasing staff shortages, an ageing population and rising costs. One way to address these issues is to implement changes in the organisation of healthcare and support services such that the Right Care in the Right Place is provided more often. The goals of this transformation are to avoid unnecessary care (prevention), relocate care (to the right service provider) and organise care or support services differently (replacement), for instance in the form of eHealth (digital care) in order to achieve the Triple Aim. This health systems transformation takes place locally, regionally and nationally.

The ultimate goal of such a transformation towards health and well-being systems is to ensure people can continue to do what they value most. Hereto, it is required that different organisations in healthcare, public health, the social domain and community services, work together, for example by referring people in debt who reach out to their general practitioner to debt counselling as well or by organising the right support for elderly people who are recovering at home after surgery.

Many initiatives in the context of Population Health Management have emerged in different regions in the Netherlands. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport commissioned the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) to investigate what is needed to take the next step in the transformation towards the Right Care in the Right Place. RIVM investigated on which elements of the transformation indicators should focus, and whether new information is needed to use these indicators. For many important elements, it concluded that insufficient data is available in order to properly monitor its progress. This was mostly the case for process elements, for example, mutual trust between professionals and cooperation between organisations.

In total, 40 employees of organisations in healthcare, public health, the social domain, community services and knowledge institutes helped decide how the transformation towards the Right Care in the Right Place should be monitored. First, a group of participants agreed on the key elements to be monitored. The 25 most important elements were prioritized, including how citizens experience their health, the exchange of digital patient data between professionals and with patients, and the cost of healthcare. Next, a group of participants chose the most relevant indicator from a list of available indicators for each element, arriving at a basic list of indicators. Finally, a group of participants compiled a wish list of indicators that need to be developed in the near future in order to monitor all important elements with the proper indicators.