Purchaser‐provider interaction in UK public health: improving stakeholder cooperation
International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing
ISSN: 1750-6123
Article publication date: 10 April 2007
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the bases of positive relations between suppliers and purchasers of healthcare services. In doing so, it examines the nature of cooperation between the providers of healthcare services (hospitals) and those who commission and purchase healthcare on behalf of patients (regional health authorities) and makes specific recommendations as to how cooperation can be better realized.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a qualitative interview approach for gathering and analyzing major stakeholder (provider and purchaser) perceptions of their interorganizational relations and how these interactions impact on the quest of the healthcare provider to meet the needs of the community they serve.
Findings
The paper identifies and groups relevant variables into four major themes or “core categories” that characterize purchaser‐provider stakeholder cooperation. These themes represent provider and purchaser views on those factors characterising stakeholder relationships within the purchaser‐provider dyad. This is followed by a number of suggestions as to how to improve the nature of cooperation between these stakeholders.
Practical implications
Extending practitioners' understanding of the nature of these inter‐related factors may lead to better insights of how interorganizational relations and partnerships might be managed more proactively throughout the healthcare value chain. Strategies to foster stakeholder cooperation are also suggested.
Originality/value
In the extant literature, there is a paucity of research that has illustrated multi‐stakeholder perspectives in the public sector. This paper explores the perceptions of two main stakeholders in public healthcare to map and assess management issues influencing purchaser‐provider cooperation.
Keywords
Citation
Carruthers, J., Rod, M. and Ashill, N.J. (2007), "Purchaser‐provider interaction in UK public health: improving stakeholder cooperation", International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 12-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506120710740252
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited