First chair in important domain of healthcare purchasing

Professor Van Raaij will study the purchasing of care and notes that better purchasing strategies and a better perspective over the value chain could improve the situation, but it would require purchasing to be viewed as more than just ‘buying’ health care services and goods. Steef van de Velde, dean of RSM, declares on this occasion: “This new chair focuses on an exciting new research direction (Purchasing and Supply Management in Health care) highly relevant to Dutch society.” Werner Brouwer, dean of iBMG, adds: “It is a new and exciting collaboration between iBMG and RSM in the field of health care and management.”

Integrated purchasing

How do health care insurers and government buy health services, and do these services match the needs and expectations of users? “Increasingly the market demands integration of activities and links in the care chain to get the best health outcomes for clients,” said Van Raaij. “But the dominant model of purchasing is still based on negotiating volumes and prices per single provider. But this approach can create conflicts, and research is needed to align contracting and contract management with integrated care chains.”

Outcome-based contracting

A commonly heard complaint from care providers is they pay too much for medical devices, pharmaceuticals and other health care goods. To counter this, new initiatives in the purchasing for care are already being tested. For example, financers are joining providers to increase purchasing leverage in negotiations with suppliers. Another new development is outcome-based contracting for medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and services. Van Raaij says his research will also evaluate how effective these purchasing strategies are in balancing health care costs with quality of care.

About Professor Van Raaij

Next to his new appointment at RSM and iBMG, Prof. Erik van Raaij is a member of the Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), a joint research institute of RSM and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE). He is also an Executive Committee member of the International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA) and a member of the Academy of Management (AOM). His work has been published in journals such as Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Supply Chain Management. He is also an associate editor for the Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management. His frequent professional magazine publications have contributed greatly to the ongoing societal debate in the Netherlands about the complex dynamics between health care providers, health care insurance companies and national government.

He earned his PhD in marketing from the University of Twente in 2001, and his MSc in technology management from the same university in 1994.

Professor Van Raaij has also received several awards and commendations for teaching excellence. He will continue teaching at MSc level in health care purchasing, purchasing and supply management, and empirical research methodology.