Hospitals: Teaming Up

This article describes the economics literature on the operation of hospitals using a framework based on the notion of "teams". It presents two distinctive features. The first one is the separation of ownership and control in hospitals and the other is to look at hospitals through the lens of teams. It addresses technology issues like output measurement, as well as economies of scale and scope and gives a brief overview of different theories on how the ruling body of the hospital chooses between the different technologically feasible options. It shows that the idea of team interactions can be extended beyond the limits of the hospital in two main areas. It addresses the relationship of hospitals with third-party payers as well as notices that patients arrive at hospital referred there by other agents, namely general practitioners. It further discusses and proposes challenges for future research.