Abstract

MARTINEZ, Octavio. Competition between "zero-sum" and "positive-sum" games in the health sector. Acta Med Colomb [online]. 2013, vol.38, n.1, pp.40-44. ISSN 0120-2448.

The veiled presence of trading positions in medical practice, hidden under the accomplice shadow of arguments that make to see the specialization of health care delivery as advantageous in the race to achieve the highest quality in the provision of health services at low cost, merits discussion. This argument, transplanted to the health sector from the corporate and business world by Michael Porter and Elizabeth Teisberg, is one of the cornerstones for the privileged and sustainable positioning of an outperformance competitive strategy, whose arithmetic is simple: specialization in the care of well-chosen patients and the concentration of such care promotes operational effectiveness, helps to reduce costs, charge higher average prices per unit of service provided and pursue investment earnings. Competitive strategy consists in differentiating itself as a provider experienced in the type of care provided and / or rely on the best fit of the framework of activities leading to the delivery of a specialized care service. This screening of patients to be attended by high-care complex technological sophistication and of elite medical science, is still a raid of the business world of the private sector that defenseless the public management of hospital care. (Acta Med Colomb 2013; 38: 40-44).

Keywords : competitive advantage; health sector.

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