Quality of healthcare in the aftermath of hospital mergers: the case of the UMCG/OZG

After the introduction of managed competition in the healthcare industry in the Netherlands, hospitals started merging together in order to lower the costs of healthcare while improving the quality of care. However, the effects of these mergers onto the provided quality of care remain unclear. This study focused on the effects of mergers in a specific case, this was the merger of the Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen and the Ommelander Ziekenhuis Groningen. To examine the quality of care within this case, two types performance indicators were selected, these were process and outcome indicators. Eventually, within the specific case, there does not seem to be a clear effect of hospital mergers on the quality of care.