Through a free market system, competition and agreements with healthcare providers, health insurance companies ensure that costs for care do not spiral out of control. Regional authorities in the Netherlands have no legal authority with regard to the management, planning or financing of the public health sector.
Opportunities
Regional authorities in the Netherlands autonomously decide whether to be involved in care or the public health sector. For example, when pressing regional matters surface with regard to healthcare or when there are opportunities available that other parties may not be able to use to their advantage automatically. The latter formed the basis for the province of Noord-Brabant to launch Smart Care.
Different
Brabant is faced with a number of serious challenges with regard to care. Our healthcare system is not only a success story. As a result of the ageing population, the demand for care increases, whilst the number of health professionals decreases. The availability and accessibility of care are put under pressure, which subsequently reduces its quality; unless we depart from the traditional concept of 'care'. It is this view that has contributed to the creation of Smart Care. What happens if we approach things differently?
Bringing partners together
Smart Care revolves around using ICT to support care at home. Brabant is highly experienced in this area and several successful experiments have been carried out. Unfortunately, until now, nothing of this kind has been realised on a large scale in Brabant. Therefore, Smart Care was launched in 2008 by the province. The province links partners and stimulates projects that will speed up and further spread the use of ICT in care.