Exploring enablers of modularity in healthcare service delivery

Abstract

PurposeThis paper explores the enablers of modular healthcare services.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based approach was adopted with specialised hospitals as the unit of analysis. A structural model was developed based on a literature review and assessed using a cross-sectional research design. A 23-indicator questionnaire was circulated among service providers in the healthcare system across India, and 286 valid responses were received. The data were analysed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results reveal that professional competence, technological versatility, clear division of tasks, channelised flow of information and professional autonomy act as enablers that may drive modular service delivery.Research limitations/implicationsBy examining service providers' perspectives, this paper highlights the influence of the identified enablers on modular service delivery in healthcare organisations.Practical implicationsFor practitioners, the study provides suggestions for designing patient-centric healthcare services via modular healthcare delivery. The identified structural relationships can facilitate immediate corrective actions and the formulation of future policies. The findings will help practitioners foresee opportunities for patient participation in value co-creation, meet patients' varying needs, decompose service offerings, mix and match components develop sets of rules as interfaces between service modules and design service packages on an ongoing basis.Social implicationsThis study underscores the emergence of patient-centric care and may aid the design of processes that deliver health to the patient as a person.Originality/valueThis paper identifies and empirically validates relationships between healthcare service delivery processes and modular service delivery.