HCMM - a maturity model for measuring and assessing the quality of cooperation between and within hospitals

Increased competition and market dynamics in healthcare force hospitals to intensify their efforts toward specialization and cooperation with others. In this paper, a maturity model is discussed that assists hospitals in evolving the required strategic, organizational, and technical capabilities in a systematic way so that the formation of collaborative structures and processes is efficient and effective. The so-called Hospital Cooperation Maturity Model (HCMM), queries a total of 36 reference points reflecting 3 distinct organizational dimensions relevant for the ability to cooperate. On the one hand it can be used as basis for benchmarking the quality of cooperation between a particular hospital and its business partners; on the other hand, it can also be applied as common ground for shared learning and improvement initiatives. In order to demonstrate its usability and applicability, an instantiation in form of a software prototype is presented. The paper ends with recommendations for healthcare practice and future research.