Coopetition

Coopetition is a coined word that combines the terms "Cooperation" and "Competition". It describes a modern strategy in healthcare where actors simultaneously compete and cooperate.

»Cooperative«

In the context of new healthcare communication, this means that healthcare facilities, doctors, and other providers are in a competitive relationship, yet still work together for the benefit of the patients. This balance between competition and cooperation allows for the advantages of both approaches to be utilized:

• Competition fosters innovation and quality improvements

• Cooperation allows for better quality of care through knowledge exchange and coordinated treatment paths

Examples of coopetition in healthcare include joint research projects, the exchange of best practices, or collaboration in care networks - even when the participating facilities compete in other areas for patients, staff, or resources.

This form of collaboration is becoming increasingly important as the complexity of medical care rises and a single facility often cannot optimally cover all aspects of treatment. Coopetition allows the strengths of different actors to be pooled while retaining the quality-promoting aspect of competition.