Regional and local cooperation
Of course, besides international and national cooperation, our regional and local collaborations are essential for healthcare, research and education. In the Dutch Integral Healthcare Agreement (IZA), cooperation is central. Various worthwhile developments took place at regional level in 2022.
Oncomid
To give people with cancer the best care in the right place, we work with other hospitals in Midden-Nederland in the regional oncological network Oncomid . Besides UMC Utrecht, the following institutions take part in Oncomid: Sint Antonius Hospital, Diakonessenhuis, Meander Medical Center, Rivierenland Hospital, Tergooi MC, and Gelderse Vallei Hospital. In 2022, Beatrix Hospital also joined. Together, we provide oncological care in the region, an area with about 2,000,000 people. We also share knowledge and conduct scientific research. We see to it that patients always benefit from the latest insights and techniques, and that we continue to update oncological care. General practitioners are closely involved in this regional network and spend a lot of attention to transmural care.
Citrien 2.0/Regional oncology networks
In 2022, within the national program Citrien 2.0/Regional Oncology Networks (2019-2022) we worked in our own region (Oncomid) on the finalization and ownership of various projects on the following topics: Suitable treatment plan, Oncology dataset, Digital exchange, and Value-driven financing. In 2022 the Citrien program once again also gave a huge acceleration to developments within Oncomid and regional tumor working groups. This has led to more countrywide collaboration and sharing of knowledge and innovations.
In this way, fin 2022, we set up a regional information service for patients with ovarian cancer. Nursing and medical specialists from the various institutions worked together on this with the Olijf Foundation, kanker.nl, and patients from our focus group.. We also developed a visual representation for patients with ovarian cancer to be displayed in consultation rooms, in cooperation with the same parties and their regional tumor working group for gynecology, the oncology network West-Nederland (RO-West). In addition, we developed a visual representation for patients with melanoma to put up in the consultation room, in cooperation with the regional tumor working group for melanoma and the Melanoma Foundation.
Furthermore in 2022 we set up a transmural expert team in which mandated healthcare professionals who participate in it, share first- and second-line initiatives with each other. For multidisciplinary consultation on colorectal cancer, which is implemented in Vitaly within the program Data Sharing Midden-Nederland, we have developed a standard dataset. To support the wide implementation of the multidisciplinary (MDO) consultation platform Vitaly, project staff members financed by the Citrien fund have been deployed. Lastly, in 2022 we took a first careful step to gain insight in the financial consequences of networking on diagnostics and the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.
In 2022 the coalitions between Health Hub Utrecht started to materialize plans for the big transition.
Health Hub Utrecht
UMC Utrecht is an active member of Health Hub Utrecht
: a ‘regional innovation ecosystem for health and happiness’ that unites healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, designers and entrepreneurs from the Utrecht region. Together, we aim to make it possible for everyone in the Utrecht region to
grow up healthy, live a balanced life, grow old happily, and die in dignity. And to let all inhabitants benefit as equally as possible from the growing prosperity in our region. Within the Health Hub, there are three coalitions: Neighborhood prevention, Digital Transformation, and Attractive Labor Market.
To be able to make the big transition together, the coalitions started in 2022 to materialize the plans for going from phase 1, ‘Starting Together’, to phase 2, ‘Making Progress’. The principle behind these plans is cooperation between the various fields and organizations to create added value together.
Transmural Contact and Coordination Center (TCC)
In 2022 the Transmural Contact and Coordination Center (TCC) UMC Utrecht was set up. The purpose of this in-house center is to coordinate and optimize transmural cooperation between specialists at UMC Utrecht and general practitioners in the region. The TTC works on expanding network care for patients in the Utrecht region through support, innovation, stimulation and connecting of excellent transmural cooperation with first- and second-line care institutions. The center must for example contribute to better logistic cooperation (e.g. the punctuality and content of release reports), better transmural safety (e.g. drug transfer and discussion and prevention of transmural incidents), realization of transmural innovation within the regional care network (in 6 test gardens), and more efficient cooperation in
research and education.
TCC UMC Utrecht is a member of the Dutch Federation of Medical Coordination Centers (FMCC) and the network of hospital relationship managers. Via these umbrella organizations, countrywide action is taken to improve transmural care, cooperation between hospitals and general practitioners, and the implementation of countrywide initiatives (e.g. referral appointments and coordination (or disruption) of care).
TRIJN - Regional cooperation organization
UMC Utrecht is a member of the Regional Cooperation Organization (RSO) TRIJN and thus contributes to ensuring the right care in the right place. This is done by cooperating with healthcare stakeholders from the Utrecht region, such as hospitals, regional GP organizations, nursing and care homes and home-care organizations (VVTs), pharmacists, and diagnostic laboratories. The focus is on projects in the field of digital data exchange and healthcare communication with inhabitants/patients. In 2022 we cooperated on setting up and implementing regional transmural agreements on the referral of patients. In addition, we cooperated on quality and (patient) safety in the scope of a platform for transmural incident reporting (TIM: ‘Transmuraal Incidenten Melden’).
