Information asymmetry and co-creation in health care services

With the aim of addressing a gap in service research on co-creation in health care, this study discusses the problem of information asymmetry in the service provider–user relationship by adopting the Viable Systems Approach. We develop a three-step interpretative framework to support the understanding of the health service relationship by going beyond the traditional information asymmetry view towards a framework capable of examining the human side of service interaction. Using the case of the Italian Health System, we discuss whether and how the problem of information asymmetry affects the health care provider–user co-creation relationship. Our findings open up a wider view of information asymmetry, suggesting a shift in focus from information sharing to interpretation schemes sharing, all the way up to values sharing, offering new insights for co-creation in health care.

Chinese abstract为了弥补医疗护理业中医患协作服务研究方面的空缺，本文采用可行性系统方法，探讨了医疗服务提供商与医疗用户之间信息不对称的问题。 我们制定了分三个步骤的诠释性框架，以助了解医疗服务的关系，本文超越了传统的信息不对称的观点，进一步提出了一个可供研究医疗服务互动中人性方面的框架。 本文以意大利医疗系统为研究案例，探讨信息不对称问题是否会影响医疗护理提供商和用户之间的协作关系，以及有哪些具体的影响。 本文拓宽了对信息不对称的认识，从信息共享转移到了诠释方法共享以及价值共享等方面，为医疗护理的医患协作提供全新的见解。