Abstract
Adopting a holistic sociotechnical perspective, healthcare systems do not merely exhibit complex structures and functionalities but are also affected by the differing expectations, claims, and concerns of the systems’ stakeholders (Guba & Lincoln, 1989; Haux, Winter, & Ammenwerth, 2004). Furthermore, the issues addressed at healthcare systems are not limited to the concerns and requirements of health service providers, whose primary and most fundamental concerns in general terms represent the assurance of their own economic well-being and ability to proactively operate as well as the development of sustainable strategies in order to realize their own interests whatever they may be (Carsten, Hankeln, & Lohmann, 2004; Kappler, 1994). Furthermore, the objectives of other health systems stakeholders such as hospital operators and financiers as well as (health) politicians, which may well be in contradiction to the objectives of mere health service providers, have to be incorporated when systematically analyzing healthcare systems (Horev & Babad, 2005; Peltier, Kleimenhagen, & Neidu, 1996; Staudinger, 2004a ).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Medical Treatment Chain: The organized sequence of healthcare services for a certain indication.
Stakeholder: A person or organization having a genuine concern or interest in a certain system or entity.
Healthcare Financier: Persons or organizations funding the provision of healthcare services.
Healthcare System: The system assigned with the preservation of mental and physical health through services offered by physicians and other health professionals.
Healthcare Provider: Persons or organizations providing health services to third persons and, in particular, patients.
Patient Pathway: The sum and sequence of healthcare services offered to a certain patient by various healthcare providers in order to achieve a certain medical outcome.
Healthcare Network: A (regional) group of healthcare providers offering differentiated ranges of services in a coordinated manner.