Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2013 Jun 24;13:229. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-13-229.
Health care networks are widely used and accepted as an organizational form that enables integrated care as well as dealing with complex matters in health care. However, research on the governance of health care networks lags behind. The research aim of our study is to explore the type and importance of governance structure and governance mechanisms for network effectiveness.
The study has a multiple case study design and covers 22 health care networks. Using a configuration view, combinations of network governance and other network characteristics were studied on the level of the network. Based on interview and questionnaire data, network characteristics were identified and patterns in the data looked for.
Neither a dominant (or optimal) governance structure or mechanism nor a perfect fit among governance and other characteristics were revealed, but a number of characteristics that need further study might be related to effective networks such as the role of governmental agencies, legitimacy, and relational, hierarchical, and contractual governance mechanisms as complementary factors.
Although the results emphasize the situational character of network governance and effectiveness, they give practitioners in the health care sector indications of which factors might be more or less crucial for network effectiveness.
医疗保健网络作为一种组织形式，被广泛应用和接受，它能够实现整合护理，并处理医疗保健中的复杂问题。然而，医疗保健网络的治理研究却相对滞后。本研究的目的是探索网络有效性的治理结构和治理机制的类型和重要性。
本研究采用多案例研究设计，涵盖了 22 个医疗保健网络。我们采用配置视角，在网络层面上研究了网络治理和其他网络特征的组合。基于访谈和问卷调查数据，我们确定了网络特征，并在数据中寻找模式。
我们既没有发现占主导地位（或最佳）的治理结构或机制，也没有发现治理与其他特征之间的完美匹配，而是发现了一些需要进一步研究的特征，这些特征可能与有效的网络有关，例如政府机构的角色、合法性以及关系、等级和契约治理机制作为互补因素。
尽管研究结果强调了网络治理和有效性的情境特征，但它们为医疗保健部门的从业者提供了一些线索，让他们了解哪些因素对网络有效性可能更为关键或不太关键。
