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Research into the implementation of the MKS method

Commissioned by the Child & Hospital Foundation and the Dutch Centre of Expertise in Children's Palliative Care, a project group of five students from the Hogeschool Utrecht with different study backgrounds started researching the implementation of MKS (Medical Child Care Cooperation). Their report builds on research from a previous project group. By conducting interviews with various stakeholders, among other things, the students have gained insight into the bottlenecks in the implementation and the benefits of MKS.

Social cost and benefit analysis

The project group has carried out a social cost-benefit analysis involving paediatricians, children's hospitals and health insurers. This cost-benefit analysis shows that MKS saves costs in the long term and improves the quality of care. Appointing a case manager as a point of contact plays an important role in this.

Different advice

The students make various recommendations in the report. One of them is that it is very important that paediatricians register their MKS actions on the special codes. These codes are currently not always used sufficiently in hospitals. According to the students, it is important that paediatricians are more willing to do so. There is currently no compensation for this, but by registering now, it can ultimately be made clear what MKS can deliver in the future.

It is also important that awareness of MKS is increased. In the interviews, the students discovered that paediatricians and nurses are often not yet aware of MKS. The students' advice to paediatricians is therefore: “Make sure colleagues are aware of MKS and register on the codes. So that we gain insight into the data and major steps can be taken in the implementation of MKS. Ultimately, this can really lead to better care.”

The project group is proud of the report they have delivered: “We have put a lot of time and effort into it and that has led to a good result. Of course we hope that it can get stakeholders moving.” The students also see opportunities for further research. For example, there are still challenges in the field of ICT and there are gains to be made in the name recognition of MKS.

Fact sheet

View the factsheet for a clear overview of the recommendations from the report.