Front-office/back-office configurations and operational performance in complex health services
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026
Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Paul Gemmel1, Thomas van Steenis, Bert Meijboom
1Center for Service Intelligence, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University , Belgium .
Background:
Acquired brain injury (ABI) occurs from various causes at different ages and leads to many different types of healthcare needs. Several Dutch ABI-networks installed a local co-ordination and contact point (CCP) which functions as a central and easily accessible service for people to consult when they have questions related to ABI.
Goals:
To explore the relationship between front/back office design and operational performance by investigating the particular enquiry service provided by different CCPs for people affected by an ABI.
Methods:
In-depth interviews with 14 FO/BO employees from three case organizations, complemented with information from desk research and three one-day field visits.
Results:
The CCPs applied different FO/BO configurations in terms of customer contact and in terms of grouping of front and/or back office activities into tasks for one employee.
Discussion:
It is the complexity of the enquiry that determines which approach is more appropriate. For complex enquiries, the level of decoupling is high in all CCPs. This allows multiple experts to be involved in the process. For regular enquiries, CCPs have a choice: either working in the same way as in the complex enquiries or coupling FO/BO activities to be able to serve clients faster and without handovers.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Health Information Technology and Healthcare Information System
Health Information Technology, commonly called HIT, integrates advanced information systems and technology in healthcare settings. Its primary functions include:
01:15Methods of Documentation VI: Case Management Model
For example, a patient with a chronic...
01:29Issues And Trends In Healthcare Delivery System
Cost Containment
Payment for healthcare services has historically promoted adoption of costly and often unnecessary or inefficient...
01:29Documentation in Long-Term and Home Healthcare Setting
Long-Term Care Facilities
01:20Integrated Healthcare System
01:26Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...