The Dutch Integral Healthcare Agreement (het Integraal Zorgakkoord, in short IZA) is aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare by enhancing collaboration, coordination, digitalization and integration among various healthcare providers. With the arrival of the IZA also came the associated transformation funds which intend to help drive the change in healthcare provision. Applying for these funds involves the following steps:  

1. Writing a quick scan, followed by a review of the market-leading health insurers 

2. A more detailed transformation plan 

3. Market-leading health insurers review the application  

4. Implementation of the plan, including monitoring 

In both the quick scan and the transformation plan, it is important to substantiate the impact of the transformation with clear analyses and evident commitment from the collaborating stakeholders.

The increasing pressure on healthcare providers calls for data availability 

Healthcare providers face an increasing need for care in the future. Combined with a rising shortage of personnel, this calls for a transformation in healthcare beyond the borders of one’s own organization. Therefore, the regional collaboration of healthcare providers wishes to realize a regional data hub, similar to a digital regional highway. This hub aims to increase collaboration, efficiency and quality within regional healthcare through seamless data availability.  

A success formula for creating an overview amidst complexity 

To fund the development and implementation of the regional data hub, the regional collaboration wanted to apply for the IZA transformation funds. The project included the diligent selection of use cases on which to build the regional data hub, a substantiation with clear impact analyses and a compelling storyline to highlight the future potential of the regional data hub. The storyline emphasized the connection to all sorts of national and regional initiatives, including the regio- and ROAZ-plan. Next to receiving a positive outcome of the application, the objective was also to organize the region for success. Our sector expertise and project management capabilities helped make things concrete and write the application. The following four factors enabled the creation of the plan:

1. Deep understanding of the healthcare sector, care pathways, processes and digital transformation  

2. Ability to navigate complex procedures of health insurers to secure transformation funding 

3. Comprehension of the strategic value of the national vision and strategy to organize for data availability and incorporate the value of data platforms in the project from the start 

4. Inclusive and effective project management to deliver on time, with enthusiasm among healthcare professionals, and a solid and predictive process for healthcare providers in the region to boost their confidence in the ability to pull this transformation off

With a clear storyline and support from stakeholders, the region now has a collaborative vision beyond the initial IZA quick scan. 

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