[Outsourcing. Advantages and disadvantages of these processes with regard to the management from the view of the technical services in a hospital].

Cost effectiveness and improvement of service quality are the main reasons for outsourcing in hospitals. Long term relationships and customer satisfaction confirm the concept of providing complex services from external specialized companies. There is no standard guideline to determine whether outsourcing should be preferred to inhouse service. Outsourcing is not a guarantee for improved service and a lot of promoted advantages could theoretically also be provided by inhouse service departments. But the effectiveness of inhouse services has to be proven in comparison and competition to external providers. The often named disadvantages of outsourcing have to be considered. Nevertheless they are also not only subject to outsourcing and can also be a problem in inhouse organisations. Furthermore a proper controlling is an important tool to eliminate most of the difficulties in outsourcing projects. In the competition between internal and external service providers concepts of service partnerships that integrate internal and external resources will be the successful ones in the long run. The main potential for improvement is the optimization of the whole process of maintenance management, instead of the mere reduction of head count.