個案總覽

A non-profit manager faces a challenge in how to grow a network of informational services to patients, their parents and medical practitioners, including allied health professionals. To date, this service has been free. Should it now be priced, and if so, how and at what price? The service also links five hospitals who can share diagnostic information for greater system efficiency. All of these hospitals put up seed money for the development of the network. How to grow this business is the challenge, including marketing, organizational structure, pricing and operational concerns.

A senior manager in a hospital is determining a system-wide approach linking physicians, social welfare agencies, and single issue volunteer health organizations in a coordinated network. The approach taken will determine likely success or failure of this innovative approach. The hospital faces a problem as the initiator of the network, as it is a teaching hospital and is viewed by many in one community as too big. The decision maker has to be able to sell the idea to the board (who seek accountability), the various agencies (who seek direct benefits) and the community at large (who seek a seamless health care delivery system). Thus potential conflicts and trade-offs abound.