The BRIDGE project supports resource pooling in the health sector across borders and improves its governance. Public health does not stop at the border, as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated. And yet, hospitals close to the border face the challenge of providing high-quality care with limited resources. That is where resource pooling becomes crucial.
Resource pooling encompasses a set of tools and strategies for coordinating and sharing resources within and between organizations. Organizations pool resources to reduce gaps between the resources that they have and services they need to provide. Furthermore, resource pooling reduces waste by making it unnecessary for organizations to stockpile resources. Through resource pooling, hospitals along the German-Dutch border can rapidly obtain necessary resources in the case of a sudden emergency. For patients, this means shorter distances and faster access to specialized care. For the region, it means healthier citizens and more resilient communities.
BRIDGE identifies opportunities for coordinated cross-border resource pooling, develops and implements a digital platform to facilitate this and provides input for relevant policy decisions.
