FEB researchers receive funding for project on healthcare quality and affordability

Researchers Huib Cense and Taco van der Vaart have received funding from Stichting Kwaliteitsgelden Medisch Specialisten (SKMS, Foundation for Quality Funds for Medical Specialists) for a large research project on data-driven insights into healthcare quality and affordability. The project is titled ‘Data-Driven Insights into Healthcare Quality and Affordability’ and will run for four years.

The project aims to build a scientific foundation for whether – and especially how – healthcare claims data can be used to generate meaningful insights into the outcomes and quality of specialist medical care. The ultimate goal is to support improvements in healthcare delivery, based on the principle that such improvements are only possible when differences in outcomes and quality can be properly understood and explained. 

The project is powered by Zorgverzekeraars Nederland (ZN, Health Insurers Netherlands) and the Federation of Medical Specialists (FMS). The research consortium includes several crucial partners including Vektis (organises data of insurance companies) and DICA (Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing) and other medical quality registries. The project will fund two PhD candidates and one Postdoc for FEB. FEB’s team is headed by Huib Cense and Taco van der Vaart. Cense is an Endowed Professor of Health System Innovation at FEB’s Department of Operations and Van der Vaart is Professor of Supply Chain Management and Department Chair of FEB’s Department of Operations. They will use the funding to appoint two PhD candidates and two part-time postdoctoral researchers. The postdoctoral researchers will primarily address the technical challenges associated with the data sources—claims data and clinical quality registries—and focus on how these sources can be meaningfully integrated to enable the evaluation and comparison of outcomes and the quality of specialist medical care.

Building on this groundwork, the PhD candidates will conduct in-depth studies on the quality of specialist medical care through multiple case studies focusing on selected medical conditions. They will use the linked claims and registry data to assess quality and outcomes across hospitals. Furthermore, they will explore inter-hospital differences in detail, based on the premise that meaningful improvements in care can only be achieved when variations in outcomes and quality are properly understood and explained.

About the funding organisation and commissioners

The Federation of Medical Specialists (FMS) unites 23,000 medical specialists and 32 scientific associations, collaborates on the practice and development of the profession, and represents the medical profession in politics and society. The Quality Funds for Medical Specialists (SKMS) are used to finance projects that contribute to improving the quality and transparency of care provided by medical specialists. This includes the development of guidelines, the development and refinement of quality assessments and quality registrations, as well as the creation of choice cards, decision aids, knowledge agendas, and long-term quality policies. Zorgverzekeraars Nederland (ZN) is the trade association for all health insurers. ZN seeks the balance between the interests of health insurers, policymakers, and healthcare providers with the goal of high-quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all insured persons.

Questions? Please contact Taco van der Vaart.