Not a national approach, but rather regional initiatives for cooperation. That's what healthcare needs, thinks Jeroen van den Oever, Fundis board chairman. "The innovative power in the region is much greater."
In the IZA, the word "collaboration" falls 200 times. But how do you achieve that? When it comes to cooperation in healthcare, the region is where it really happens, said Jeroen van den Oever, chairman of the board of directors of network organization Fundis, during his keynote at Zorg & ict.
"Data exchange starts in the region and not with national initiatives," he interrupted. Facing the busy Nictiz booth, that was quite a strong statement.
Vulnerable elderly and chronically ill
But Van den Oever was able to substantiate this well with examples from his own practice. Fundis is a network organization for the care of frail elderly and chronically ill people. Some 25 different organizations are affiliated with it in the South Holland and Utrecht regions.
Fundis has taken the initiative to cooperate more and better in the region. Highly necessary, given the problems in healthcare with the shortage of employees and increasing demand for care.
Read also: Regional cooperation: going faster together
Cooperation in the chain
There are several ways to address these problems, Van den Oever outlined: for example, by having people work longer hours or bringing in employees from abroad.
There are also plenty of technical solutions and other forms of housing may offer relief. "But the most important thing is more cooperation in the chain. Because far too much money and energy is lost due to poor coordination."
Formed an association with all parties
In two regions, Fundis has taken the initiative to arrive at one form of network care with a large number of parties: general practitioners, hospitals, mental health care, health insurers, the social domain and municipalities. In South Holland, this is done under the banner of Shared Care. In Zoetermeer it is called Samen ZoeterMeer Gezond.
A special form was chosen for this, Van den Oever explained. "In both regions we set up an association with all parties involved, including residents. Because that's how you get regional commitment."
Exchange everything that is necessary
In Midden-Holland, 30 parties are members of this association. Together they are working on a transformation plan (budget 50 million euros) to take cooperation to the next level.
The plans focus on four topics: prevention, acute care, chronic care and mental health. "Data sharing is key to implementing collaboration in the region. Our vision is that in the future citizens and clients together with their practitioners, the doctors and also the social domain can exchange everything that is necessary for their treatment. And there needs to be a regional platform for that."
Use cases developed
After an extensive tendering process, the partnership chose a consortium of KPN and Cocoa as suppliers and builders. With them together, several use cases are now being developed. The first, about the exploratory call, has recently become available. "We are really making meters. By mid-2027 we want to be ready with the whole package of use cases."
How to achieve national alignment?
Midden-Holland is not the only region where these types of collaborative initiatives are getting off the ground. "The question is how to build momentum while ensuring national coordination," notes Van den Oever. "Because it can't be the case that we start inventing the wheel in Midden-Holland and then everyone else starts figuring it out for themselves."
Also read: Data availability in the future: 'A transparent system for all parties'
VWS, CumuluZ and health insurers
The Ministry of VWS and CumuluZ are now looking into this alignment. Health insurers are also trying to take a role there, according to Van den Oever. "As far as I'm concerned, too big a role. Because I don't think insurers really understand the process that we are working on right now in the region."
Still, according to Van den Oever, something has to happen so that the local initiatives will eventually grow into a national network. "The idea is that the network we are building as a hub will be linked to other hubs around the country," he says. To do that, parties such as KNP and Microfsoft need to get together. That is where Van den Oever sees a role for Cumuluz.
"This is how we can get from regional initiatives to a national network. I am convinced that we should do it this way and not nationally, from the top down. Because you see that the power of innovation is much greater in the region. There, local people, health care providers as well as patients, clients and citizens are involved. The power of innovation is in the region."
