Strategic Options for the Relationship-Management between Hospital and Statutory Health Insurance - An Explorative Study

OBJECTIVE: This investigation examines the specific demands of statutory health insurance organisations on hospitals. The need for such an analysis is determined by the increasing competition in the German health care system in the past years. Hospitals are confronted with growing and perhaps conflictual demands on the hospital's stakeholders. METHOD: An empirical investigation should provide first insight into the widely unexplored relationship between statutory health insurances and hospitals. For this reason, 23 explorative interviews with managers of hospitals and statutory health insurance organisations were conducted. RESULTS: The resulting demands are structured and assigned to identified areas of demand. Aspects which are important for statutory health insurance organisations and aspects that hospitals assume are important were compared. Thus, an existing gap was identified. Furthermore, options for statutory health insurance (dis-)satisfaction are shown. CONCLUSION: Such an analysis is essential for hospitals to develop and maintain a positive relationship to the statutory health insurances and to achieve competitive advantages.