Newsroom &
PUBLICATIONS

In our newsroom you can find out everything about our health networks and projects in Germany and abroad. Stay up to date with the latest in health policy and health science findings and studies.

Latest News

OLIVER GRÖNE RECEIVES ASSOCIATE PROFESSORSHIP FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WITTEN/HERDECKE

The University of Witten/Herdecke has awarded our Vice-Chairman of the Board, Dr Oliver Gröne (PhD, MSc), the title of Extraordinary Professor (apl. Prof.) at the Faculty of Economics and Society. The sociologist and doctor of health sciences receives the award in recognition of his extensive scientific achievements in health systems research. The focus of his work is on the complex interrelationships of structures, processes and outcomes in health care, which he has researched in many international funded projects and published in over 100 scientific publications.

Read more here (German).

MORE NEWS

ASCERTAIN: NEW HORIZON EUROPE RESEARCH PROJECT TO IMPROVE THE AFFORDABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF INNOVATIVE HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES

We are partner in the HORIZON funded project ASCERTAIN (Affordability and Sustainability improvements through new pricing, Cost- Effectiveness and ReimbursemenT models to Appraise iNnovative health
technologies) that addresses the need of patients, physicians, payers, regulators, and manufacturers to improve the affordability and accessibility to innovative health technologies (including pharmaceuticals) in Europe.

Read more here.

Events

20. SEP 2023

29th International HPH-Conference

Meet us in Vienna where the 29th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services addresses the role of health promotion in well-being-oriented healthcare.

Find out more here.

26. OCT 2023

46th IHF World Hospital Congress

Meet us in Lisbon and join our workshop!

Prof. Dr. Oliver Gröne chairs a table with several HPH partners at the IHF Partners Workshop session. The workshop “In 2030, hospitals will be sustainable. How do we get there?” is focused on how we get to sustainable hospitals by 2030.

Find out more here.

LATEST Publications by or
in cooperation with us

INTEGRATED CARE IN GERMANY: EVOLUTION AND SCALING UP OF THE POPULATION-BASED INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM “HEALTHY KINZIGTAL”

Prof. Dr. Oliver Gröne und Dr. h. c. Helmut Hildebrandt

The Healthy Kinzigtal model seeks to address inefficiencies in the healthcare system. It is based on the triple aim approach, which seeks to simultaneously pursue three aims: improving the patient´s experience of care, improving the health of the population and reducing the per capita cost of health care. Read more in this article by Oliver Gröne and Helmut Hildebrandt.

In: Handbook Integrated Care

Groene, O., Hildebrandt, H. (2021). Integrated Care in Germany: Evolution and Scaling up of the Population-Based Integrated Healthcare System “Healthy Kinzigtal”. In: Amelung, V., Stein, V., Goodwin, N., Balicer, R., Nolte, E., Suter, E. (Hrsg.). Handbook Integrated Care (2nd ed.), Springer Nature Switzerland, 2021. S. 1155-1168.

Read more here.

Publications

INTEGRATING CARE TO PREVENT AND MANAGE CHRONIC DISEASES: BEST PRACTICES IN PUBLIC HEALTH. OPTIMEDIS, REGIONALLY BASED INTEGRATED CARE MODEL

OECD

This chapter covers the OptiMedis integrated care model operating in certain regions in Germany (and is a “good practice” within the EU Joint Action on implementation of digitally enabled integrated person-centred care). The case study includes an assessment of the OptiMedis model of care against the five best practice criteria, policy options to enhance performance and an assessment of its transferability to other OECD and EU27 countries.

In: OECD Publishing

OECD (2023). Integrating Care to Prevent and Manage Chronic Diseases: Best Practices in Public Health. OptiMedis, regionally based integrated care model. OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9acc1b1d-en.

Read more here.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF INTERSECTORAL HEALTHCARE CENTRES WITH AN EXTENDED OUTPATIENT CARE MODEL TO IMPROVE REGIONAL CARE-STRUCTURES – A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Heidrun Sturm, Florian Kaiser, Philipp Leibinger, Edgar Drechsel-Grau, Stefanie Joos, Andreas Schmid

Many smaller hospitals in Germany are currently threatened with closure due to economic reasons and politically derived centralization. In some – especially rural areas – this may result in a lack of accessible local care structures. At the same time, patients are unnecessarily admitted to hospitals due to insufficient primary care structures and healthcare coordination. Intersectoral health centers, as new intermediary structures, may offer round-the-clock monitoring, with fewer infrastructure needs than hospitals and, thus, could offer a sustainable solution.

In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Sturm, H., Kaiser, F., Leibinger, P., Drechsel-Grau, E., Joos, S., Schmid, A. (2023). The Contribution of Intersectoral Healthcare Centres with an Extended Outpatient Care Model to Improve Regional Care-Structures – A Qualitative Study. In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075365

Read more here.

BIG DATA ANALYTICS TO REDUCE PREVENTABLE HOSPITALIZATIONS — USING REAL-WORLD DATA TO PREDICT AMBULATORY CARE-SENSITIVE CONDITIONS.

Schulte, Timo, Tillmann Wurz, Oliver Groene, Sabine Bohnet-Joschko

The purpose of this study was to develop a prediction model to identify individuals and populations with a high risk of being hospitalized due to an ambulatory care-sensitive condition who might benefit from preventative actions or tailored treatment options to avoid subsequent hospital admission. A rate of 4.8 % of all individuals observed had an ambulatory care-sensitive hospitalization in 2019 and 6389.3 hospital cases per 100,000 individuals could be observed. Based on real-world claims data, the predictive performance was compared between a machine learning model (Random Forest) and a statistical logistic regression model.

In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Schulte, T., Wurz, T., Groene, O., Bohnet-Joschko, S. (2023). Big Data Analytics to Reduce Preventable Hospitalizations — Using Real-World Data to Predict Ambulatory Care-Sensitive Conditions. In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2023, 20(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064693

Read more here.

IMPROVING THE EVALUATION OF AN INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM USING ENTROPY BALANCING: POPULATION HEALTH IMPROVEMENTS IN GESUNDES KINZIGTAL

Nicolas Larrain, Oliver Gröne

Evidence of integrated healthcare networks’ effect on population health is scarce. Moreover, current designs for evaluating such networks have shortcomings that can result in misleading conclusions. This paper evaluates Gesundes Kinzigtal, a best-practice integrated healthcare network, using an innovative design that enlightens the discussion about health gains produced by integrated healthcare.

In: SSM – Population Health

Larrain, N., Gröne, O. (2023). Improving the evaluation of an integrated healthcare system using entropy balancing: Population health improvements in Gesundes Kinzigtal. In: SSM – Population Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101371

Read more here.

POLICY GUIDANCE ON ADVANCING THE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS

Nicolas Larrain, Oliver Gröne

Many countries are introducing health care reforms to encourage the development of integrated health care systems. For reforms that introduce elements of piloting at a sub-national level, there is a keen interest in evaluating the impact of the pilot. For national or long-term reforms, there is a need to define performance indicators. The authors reviewed literature specific to performance assessment of integrated healthcare systems and complemented it with the research findings by the HealthPros network.

In: Healthpros Healthcare Performance Intelligence Series

Larrain, N., Gröne, O. (2022). Policy guidance on advancing the performance assessment of integrated healthcare systems. In: Healthcare Performance Intelligence Series No. 1.4 2022. Healthpros.

Read more here.

ALL HANDS ON DECK: CO-DEVELOPING THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS

Candan Kendir, Rushay Naik, Janika Blömeke, Katherine de Bienassis, Nicolas Larrain, Niek Klazinga, Frederico Guanais, Michael van den Berg

This paper reports on the stakeholder engagement in design, development and implementation of the PaRIS survey Field Trial in seventeen countries. Engagement strategies were analysed by target group (patients, providers, or other stakeholders), and engagement level (co-designing, involving, consulting, and informing). The results provide valuable lessons for the implementation of the full PaRIS survey in 2023 and illustrate how stakeholders could be more actively engaged in health services research and policymaking.

In: OECD Health Working Papers

Kendir C. et al. (2023), “All hands on deck: Co-developing the first international survey of people living with chronic conditions: Stakeholder engagement in the design, development, and field trial implementation of the PaRIS survey”, OECD Health Working Papers, No. 149, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/8b31022e-en

Read more here.

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF VALUE-BASED CARE IN GERMANY:
AN ADAPTED, MIXED-METHODS APPROACH

Value-Based Care (VBC) is being discussed to provide better outcomes to patients, with an aim to reimburse healthcare providers (HCPs) based on the quality of care they deliver. Little is known about German HCPs’ knowledge of VBC. This study aims to investigate the knowledge of HCPs of VBC and to identify potential needs for further education toward implementation of VBC in Germany.

In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Kuck, A., Kinscher, K., Fehring, L., Hildebrandt, H., Doerner, J., Lange, J., Trubel, H., Boehme, P., Bade, C., & Mondritzki, T. (2022). Healthcare Providers’ Knowledge of Value-Based Care in Germany: An Adapted, Mixed-Methods Approach. In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, MDPI, Basel, 19(14). doi: 10.3390/ ijerph19148466

Read more here.

HOW CAN BIG DATA ANALYTICS SUPPORT PEOPLE-CENTRED AND INTEGRATED HEALTH SERVICES: A SCOPING REVIEW

A scoping review following the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses – Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) statement was conducted to gather information on how big data analytics can support people-centred and integrated health services.

In: International Journal of Integrated Care

Schulte, T., & Bohnet-Joschko, S. (2022). How can Big Data Analytics Support People-Centred and Integrated Health Services: A Scoping Review. In: International Journal of Integrated Care, 22, S. 23. doi: 10.5334/ijic.5543

Read more here.

ASSESSING PATIENT EXPERIENCE WITH PATIENT SAFETY IN PRIMARY CARE: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE ASK-ME-QUESTIONNAIRE

The main safety-related areas in primary care refer to medication safety, diagnosis and communication between healthcare professionals and communication with patients. It is increasingly acknowledged that involving patients in the safety of their care is an important aspect in systematically identifying safety problems in primary care.

In: BMJ Open

Stahl, K., Reisinger, A., & Groene, O. (2022). Assessing patient experience with patient safety in primary care: development and validation of the ASK-ME-questionnaire. In: BMJ Open, 12(4). doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049237

Read more here.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Find out more about our work in the regions, our research projects and political activities.

CONTACT

Britta Horwege

Head of Communications

+49 40 22621149-52

+49 157 35145620

b.horwege@optimedis.de