International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Toward Customized Care; Comment on “(Re) Making the Procrustean Bed? Standardization and Customization as Competing Logics in Healthcare”

Document Type : Commentary

Author
Etienne Minvielle
Ecole des hautes études en santé publique (EHESP), Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
10.15171/ijhpm.2017.84
Abstract
Patients want their personal needs to be taken into account. Accordingly, the management of care has long involved some degree of personalization. In recent times, patients’ wishes have become more pressing in a moving context. As the population ages, the number of patients requiring sophisticated combinations of longterm care is rising. Moreover, we are witnessing previously unvoiced demands, preferences and expectations (eg, demand for information about treatment, for care complying with religious practices, or for choice of appointment dates). In view of the escalating costs and the concerns about quality of care, the time has now come to rethink healthcare delivery. Part of this reorganization can be related to customization: what is needed is a customized business model that is effective and sustainable. Such business model exists in different service sectors, the customization being defined as the development of tailored services to meet consumers’ diverse and changing needs at near mass production prices. Therefore, its application to the healthcare sector needs to be seriously considered.
Keywords
Customization
Personalization
Care
Healthcare Delivery
Subjects
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 7, Issue 3
2018
Pages 272-274

  • Received Date 17 June 2017
  • Revised Date 15 July 2017
  • Accepted Date 11 July 2017
  • First Published Date 01 March 2018
  • Published Date 01 March 2018