Innovative Management Interventions in European Health Systems: Implementation, Scale Up, Transfer, and Comparison

Health systems across Europe and worldwide are facing converging pressures: demographic ageing, the growing burden of chronic and non-communicable diseases, persisting and new inequities in health, rapid technological change, climate and environmental challenges, and tight fiscal constraints in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These pressures are forcing a rethink of how health services are organized, governed, and managed across the entire continuum of care.

At the same time, many promising solutions already exist. Across countries, regions, and local health systems, managers, clinicians, and communities are designing and transfer implementing innovative management interventions that reconfigure care pathways, redesign services, improve integration and coordination, leverage digital tools, and realign incentives. Yet these innovations are often fragmented, insufficiently documented, and rarely analyzed in a way that allows for systematic comparison and transferability across settings.

This Research Topic emanates from a comparative analysis of innovative management interventions across several European health systems conducted under the coordination of the Chair on Innovative Management for Health at the Economy and Health Foundation. It additionally invites research on comparison, transfer, and scale up of innovative healthcare management practices in Europe or in relation to Europe. The goal is to use these insights as a springboard for a broader discussion, consolidating lessons that can inspire adaptation and inform policy globally. The Research Topic welcomes articles of all types including original research and policy briefs. It particularly welcomes review type articles, including systematic reviews, scoping reviews, mini reviews, and policy and practice reviews.

The main aim of this Research Topic is to synthesize and document innovative management interventions across the health system continuum. It seeks to compare and consolidate evidence-based lessons learned across countries and regions, identifying conditions for success, barriers, and factors influencing transferability and scalability. Studies that provide or synthesize evidence on cross-national transferability and scale up are most welcome.

We particularly welcome submissions focusing on (but not limited to) the following health systems themes and settings:

Prevention, health promotion and population health management
Management interventions that embed prevention and health promotion within health services and across sectors
Innovative approaches to tackle major risk factors and social determinants of health through service redesign and intersectoral collaboration

Primary and community care organization
New models of primary and community care teams, networks and multidisciplinary practices
Community-based interventions that improve access, continuity and coordination, especially for vulnerable populations

Hospital management
Redesign of hospital pathways and processes to enhance safety, efficiency and patient-centered care

Alternatives to hospitalization
Hospital-at-home programs, ambulatory and virtual care, and other alternatives that reduce avoidable admissions and length of stay

Integrated and person-centered care for chronic conditions and multimorbidity
Models that integrate health and social care, including long-term care, frailty and complex chronic conditions
Case management, shared care plans and multidisciplinary teams to strengthen coordination across levels of care

Technology and Digital transformation
Use of digital health, telehealth, interoperable information systems and decision-support tools for clinical and managerial decision-making
Data governance, learning health systems and the use of real-world data and advanced analytics in health services management

Human capital: professionals and patients
This section examines the empowerment and active role of patients in their own decisions, as well as the engagement, participation and care of professionals as co-creators of actions within the healthcare system. It starts from the premise that empowering patient-centered professionals is a key condition for building a more humane and sustainable health system.

Financial sustainability, payment and incentive models
Management innovations in financing, budgeting, contracting and provider payment
Approaches aligning incentives with prevention, quality, equity, value-based care and long-term sustainability

Evaluation and health impact assessment of management interventions
Frameworks and methods to evaluate complex management interventions and their wider system and population health impacts
Comparative and benchmarking studies across organizations, regions or countries

Governance, Stakeholder Participation and Accountability
Governance arrangements and leadership practices that foster innovation, resilience, accountability and transparency
Co-design and co-production with patients, families, communities and health professionals
Accountability mechanisms

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Health systems management, Healthcare innovation, Integrated care, Primary care, Digital health transformation, Health policy, Care coordination, Health services research, Comparative health systems

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.