Enhancing value in healthcare: towards a trans-disciplinary approach

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to suggest how decision-makers may work towards a broader perspective on value than that expressed in financial economics-based accounting terms to enhance value in healthcare.Design/methodology/approachThe authors review published academic research and reports on practice across a range of disciplines.FindingsThe authors find that while value is a multidimensional concept, which is open to perceptions that differ across stakeholders in healthcare, financial economics-based accounting is essentially mono-disciplinary and dominates decisions. Enhancing value in health is a wicked problem, and a trans-disciplinary approach has the potential to enable decision-makers to enhance value.Practical implicationsThe suggest that a trans-disciplinary approach, which dissolves disciplinary boundaries, is capable of enabling decision-makers to work towards understanding and enhancing value by fostering awareness of stakeholders' perceptions of value. A critical caveat is that a trans-disciplinary approach does not guarantee ready-made or immediate solutions; it does, however, offer the means to struggle towards a destination which may be continually shifting.Originality/valueThis study highlights the importance of a broader understanding of the concept of value than that implied by financial economics-based accounting and recognises the perceptions of stakeholders. It explores the inter-relationship among “the view from nowhere”, wicked problems and trans-disciplinarity and recommends a trans-disciplinary approach with a view to enhancing value in that broader sense. In this way, it contributes to the accounting literature, which has previously paid little attention to some of these aspects.