A new broad collaboration is established after a long standing relationship between affiliate The Decision Institute, Intrabond Capital and IESE Business School of Barcelona. IESE is one of world’s leading business schools, with various excellent courses and executive education programs. With the expertise of Intrabond Capital and the experience and knowledge of developing new exclusive executive programs by The Decision Institute, a cooperation with IESE will create synergy. Within this collaboration, various board program will be developed in line with the successful Havard Faculty Club Programs. The  board programs will focus on the typical characteristics of European boards and boardroom dynamics. We will keep you updated on the latest insights of this high potential collaboration and hope to invite you soon for one of our new programs.

The Decision Group and Corporate Governance

Over the years The Decision Group has built extensive expertise on Corporate Governance. The Decision Group advises supervisory boards on and has extended expertise in: Providing board support, Individual advise, leadership and training and Establishing partnerships. Partner The Decision Institute develops impressive executive programs, sharing the latest insights on boardroom dynamics and board styles, board sessions, board evaluations, board strategy setting and case-teaching based education. Among other initiatives and coproductions, a new (3rd) Maximize Your Board’s Potential™ seminar, organized in collaboration with Intrabond Capital,  has been planned for March 18^th-21^st 2013 .

• Visit for more information our Maximize Your Board’s Potential website.
• Register now for the 3rd edtion by filling in the application form.

Next to IESE, The Decision Group is affiliated to a large number of universities and business schools and has links with professors all over the world.

• Visit for more information on the IESE collaboration the newsitem on The Decision Institute.
• See also:
  The Decision Group and:
  - our expertise on Corporate Governance
  - our Academic Connections
  The Decision Institut executive (board) programs:
  - Maximize Your Boards Potential 2nd edition
  - Maximize Your Boards Potential 1st edition
  - NCD Commissarissencyclus
  - New Board Program
  - The Brain in the Boardroom
  - New CFO Program

 Our befriended affiliates at Harvard Business School; Prof. R.S. Kaplan and Prof. M.E. Porter published a new article in the New York Times. “Why Medical Bills Are a Mystery”.(Click to download)  The piece sheds light on the broken costing practices in health care and the opportunities that arise from accurately measuring the costs of resources used at the medical condition level. Combining improved costing practices with rigorous measurement of patient outcomes allows for targeted process redesign and care delivery improvements, which yield substantial savings and may be the only way to truly “bend the curve” of rising health care costs.

The Decision Group hopes you enjoy the article and that it engenders discussion of these issues at your organization.

Masterclass Health Costing

The Decision Group and The Decision Institute work as the European partner of prof. Porter to roll out the principles of Value Based Healthcare, of which Health Costing forms an integral part.  Our new Masterclass Health Costing is now available to help you and your organization with a practical approach towards Health Costing and decisionmaking on costs. For more information on our open or inhouse Masterclass Health Costing or to run a pilot program, please contact Barbara Schooneveldt at b.schooneveldt@thedecisiongroup.nl. For more information on the other masterclasses in the Value Based Healthcare series, download the brochure or visit our healthcare website.

See also:

- The Decision Group Healthcare Consulting
- Academic Connections

Executive Education Programs Healthcare by affiliate The Decision Institute: 
- Clinical Management Workshop Series
- Masterclass Healthcare ‘New&Improved’

Did you know that in The Netherlands:

• Diagnostics influences as much as 60-70% of healthcare decision making
• Expenditure on diagnostics is even less than 6% of the total health expenditure

Diagnostics does not  receive the attention it deserves. It is the missing link for a sustainable healthcare system, providing immediate opportunities to reduce costs and to deliver higher quality of care.

The Value of Diagnostics – The Study

The Decision Group and Isala Klinieken proudly present the results of the study  ”the Value of Diagnostics”. This study resulted in the first decision framework for diagnostics. It will help you and your organization to assess the value of different types of diagnostics and provides a much more efficient mechanism to take  reimbursement, investment and portfolio decisions.

On Tuesday June 5th, the latest insights will be shared on our study results, the new framework and the method. The event will take place on 14.00u-18.00u in Hotel Wientjes, Stationsweg 7, Zwolle.

To register for participation, please fill out the online application form or contact Kim Bruheim (k.bruheim@thedecisiongroup.nl). For more information on the Value of Diagnostics visit our special website and download the Executive Summary.

See also

- The Decision Group Healthcare Consulting
- Academic Connections
-  Executive Education Programs Healthcare by affiliate The Decision Institute: 
- Clinical Management Workshop Series
- Masterclass Healthcare ‘New&Improved’

‘ Measuring the quality of healthcare: principles and challenges’  was the title of the symposium Aantoonbaar Beter organized by the Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra (NFU) and Gezondheidsraad on April 5, 2012.  The interesting speakers and enthusiastic participants discussed the relevance and examples of outcome measures. Partcipating stakeholders all endorsed the relevance of outcome measures  – the guiding  the principle of  Value-Based Healthcare. This is truly a step in the right direction. But how to get Outcome Measurement started?

The Decision Group & Value-Based Healthcare

During the symposium many ideas were brought about on Outcome Measures. But ideas are not enough. It is important to convert these ideas into a practical approach for implementation.  The Decision Group helps to implement Value-Based Healthcare and our Outcome Measures methodology in your organization. We are Prof. Michael Porter’s European partner to roll out Value Based Healthcare in Europe and The Netherlands. Currently, The Decision Group is running various pilot projects. Our flagship project “Meetbaar Beter” sets and collects Outcome Measures for the heart centers of Catharina and Sint Antonius Hospitals. For more information about The Decision Group and Outcomes, you can visit our special website.

See also

- The Decision Group Healthcare Consulting
- Academic Connections

Executive Education Programs Healthcare by affiliate The Decision Institute: 
- Clinical Management Workshop Series
- Masterclass Healthcare ‘New&Improved’

In the effort to help the internationalization of the Dutch flower cluster further, a workshop with case discussion was provided by Partner of The Decision Group at the International University of Monaco. The potential of Dutch flowers as a luxury good were explored during case discussion of the Harvard Business Case on the cluster. The Dutch Flower Cluster is one of the top clusters in the Netherlands, a designated “topgebied”  for innovation policy.

The Decision Group and Clusters and Competitiveness

Since 1998, The Decision Group has developed extensive expertise on Clusters and Competitiveness.  The Decision Group has helped monitoring clusters success, developed strategic plans and scenario’s and is active in association management. Furthermore, advanced strategic tools as Scenario 3.0 and the Decision Lab 3.0 are developed to help you to make your business decisions and to improve your competitive advantage. Our work on clusters and competitiveness has academic grounding through our connects to Prof. Michael Porter and his  Microeconomics of Competitiveness course and international network, linked with HBS’s Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness.

The Decision Group Strategy Consulting on Competitiveness & Clusters:
- Consulting on Competitiveness & Clusters
- Decision lab 3.0
- Monitoring Succes of the Dutch Life Sciences Cluster

The Decision Institute: Clusters and Competitiveness:
- The Netherlands Institute of Competitiveness
- Microeconomics of Competitiveness
- The Dutch Flower Cluster Case

An inspiring and successful Clinical Management Workshop was organized at the first spring day of 2012, March 21st. The workshop was part of the Clinical Management Workshop Series. A large group of healthcare professionals from various hospitals and participants from the industry actively discussed the latest insights and Dutch situation regarding the subject of ‘Outcome Measures: value creation for patients’.

The key learnings of the workshops were connected to the following topics:

• Health outcomes are both the starting point to create patient value, as steering indicators for internal organization.
• Outcomes, costs, and the activities in the care cycle are interrelated, change in any of these elements has effects on the other two.
• Practice units should be integrated and be uncoupled from finance units. The financial structure should not be leading the organizational structure.
• Medical AND managerial coordinators are essential for optimal collaboration between units

Value-based Healthcare & Outcome Measures

Next to the Clinical Management Workshop Series, we organize several other programs and projects:

• Inhouse masterclasses and workshops on outcome measures
• Co-development projects on new outcome measures
• Tailored projects on ‘Value-based Healthcare’

Check our proceedings at Catharina Hospital (Eindhoven) and Antonius Hospital (Nieuwegein) – Meetbaar Beter Project

For more information, please contact us at 0346-574942, or send an e-mail to Barbara Schooneveldt; b.schooneveldt@thedecisiongroup.nl.

See also:

Strategy Consulting for Healthcare & Life Sciences:
- Consulting for Healthcare
- Consulting for Life Sciences

The Decision Institute Healthcare Masterclasses & Workshops:
- Clinical Management Workshop “Outcome Measures”
- Clinical Management Workshop “Managing Hospital Safe – Guards”.
- Clinical Management Workshop “Concentration and Distribution”.
- Masterclass Healthcare ‘New&Improved’
- Masterclass Outcome Measures

Following the positive response on the Dutch Life Sciences Outook 2012, The Decision Group just started the development of the Outlook 2013. The database is updated again, startup companies are added and new developments are analyzed. The Academic Council will meet as well for thorough academic grounding of our theoretic models and validation of our methodologies.  We expect that the new outlook will be launched in Januari, 2013.

Healthcare Section in Outlook 2013

The aim of the new outlook 2013 is to address the convergence of innovation in healthcare. At this stage, The Decision Group is exploring options and opportunities for including a healthcare section in the outlook. A partner has already been selected.

For questions, suggestion or more information about the Outlook 2013, please contact Niels van Gorp, ir.
The Dutch Life Sciences Outlook of 2012 can be downloaded from our dedicated website www.lifesciencesoutlook.com.

See also

The Decision Group Strategy Consulting:
- Consulting on Competitiveness & Clusters
- Consulting on Healthcare
- Consulting on Life Sciences

The Decision Institute: Clusters and Competitiveness:
- The Netherlands Institute of Competitiveness
- Microeconomics of Competitiveness
- The Dutch Flower Cluster Case

Prof. Dr. Fred van Eenennaam, partner of The Decision Group and Dirk Hogervorst, of FloraHolland, acted as case protagonists in Prof. Michael Porters’s teaching of the Dutch Flower Cluster case. The topics discussed were on strategies in clusters and competitiveness in relation to the Dutch Economy. The Dutch Flower Cluster Case, the succes story of the flower industry in The Netherlands, is a Harvard Business School case written by Prof. Porter, Dr. Ramirez-Vallejo and Prof. Dr. Fred van Eenennaam with the help of Dirk Hogervorst of FloraHolland. The flower industry is important for the Dutch economy and part of the topsector horticulture & propagation materials. With topsectors, the Dutch government has set a focus on core clusters for innovation policy.  

The Decision Group and Clusters and Competitiveness

The Decision Group has extensive expertise in competitiveness, clusters and associations. Our work in clusters has academic grounding through Prof. Dr. Fred van Eenennaam’s connects to Harvard’s  Microeconomics of Competitiveness course and international network. The Decision Group helps monitoring clusters success, develops strategic plans and scenario’s, and is active in association management. For 4 years now, The Decision Group develops a yearly Outlook for the Dutch Life Science Health cluster, monitoring performance & progress with recommendations for future improvement. The Decision Group just started development of the Dutch Life Sciences & Health Outlook 2013. 

See also

The Decision Group Strategy Consulting on Competitiveness & Clusters:
- Consulting on Competitiveness & Clusters

The Dutch Life Sciences Outlook:
-  Outlook 2012

The Decision Institute: Clusters and Competitiveness:
- The Netherlands Institute of Competitiveness
- Microeconomics of Competitiveness
- The Dutch Flower Cluster Case

At our affiliate The Decision Institute’s Masterclass on Outcome Measures on February 14th, delegates of various medical boards were introduced to the key aspectes of Value Based Healthcare and the creation of Patient Value.  Establishing Outcome Measurement, the topic of the masterclass,  is an essential step in creating Patient Value and helps to define a unique Value Proposition and  facilitate decision making & dialogue. The participants got a quick overview of developments in measurement, after which a practical workshop with 5 steps towards establishing a comprehensive set of Outcome Measures was followed.

Some of the enthusiastic replies on the Masterclass:
“The masterclass gave a good and clear overview on outcome measures in a relatively short amount of time”
“Good examples and discussions”
“Good discussion on parameters and indicators”
“Plenary discussions and the diversity of the audience were the best parts of the session” 
“It was great that the session was so interactive and I liked the part on filling the Care Delivery Value Chain”

The Decision Group and Outcome Measures

The Decision Group works as the European partner of prof. Porter to roll out the principles of Value Based Healthcare, of which establishing  Outcome Measures is an integral part. Currently The Decision Group is running various pilot projects. Our flagship project is the definition of Outcome Measures for the heart centers of Catharina and Sint Antonius Hospitals. 
For more information about The Decision Group and Outcomes, you can visit our special website.

See also

- The Decision Group Healthcare Consulting
- Academic Connections
- Executive Education Programs Healthcare by affiliate The Decision Institute: 
- Clinical Management Workshop Series
- Masterclass Healthcare ‘New&Improved’

OLVG by Yme Bosma

After nearly six years of working for The Decision Group and The Decision Institute, ir. Roald van Leeuwen says goodbye. Roald started his career at The Decision Group in 2006 and had a focus on the Life Sciences industry. Furthermore Roald was lecturer of the Nyenrode Business University on scenario planning and dealing with uncertainty.

Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis

At the start of February, Roald switches jobs and will start in the ‘Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis’ Hospital  in Amsterdam as Advisor to the hospital board. The Decision Group wishes Roald all the best with his new career.