Health Care Service Networks: Strategic Alliances in Colmédica, a Colombian Company

Abstract

This article presents a case study of the system of vertical alliances in the health care sector in Bogotá. The article aims at contributing the understanding of hybrid organizational forms, by assessing the degree of integration in vertical alliances. Such alliances are studied in the light of the theoretical model for selecting optimal integration in vertical alliances proposed in the literature on the topic. The article finds that a higher degree of integration between the health insurance company and the companies that provide ambulatory health care may be useful to better control that first glance at the health care system. Likewise, it finds that the degree of integration between the health insurance company and the hospital service providers seems adequate because it shows that a higher degree of said integration may create unnecessary rigidity in an uncertain environment.