Cooperation in healthcare

"As a lawyer at Maasstad Hospital, you see much more than just classical healthcare law. You work with and for patients, employees, visitors, suppliers and other stakeholders and parties in healthcare such as regulators, government bodies, industry organisations and patient representatives. In addition, collaborations in healthcare are becoming larger and more important. We see a growing multitude of parties, for example when it comes to initiatives under the Integral Care Agreement. As a lawyer, you master the whole playing field, yet complex processes sometimes require additional specialist knowledge from outside the organisation. To renew the statutes of the Maasstad Hospital Foundation, we were looking for a Rotterdam-based notary's office with specialisation in healthcare. We found that in Ploum. After the amendment of the articles of association, we also worked with Ploum for the legal merger with the Polyclinic Pharmacy, a subsidiary of the hospital."

In both the renewal of the articles of association and the legal merger, not only knowledge of corporate law was important, but also of sector-specific laws and regulations, such as the Care Governance Code 2022 and the Care providers (accreditation) Act. "It is nice when there is broader thinking about more than just purely legal content. With Stan (Commissaris) and Melanie (Verduyn Lunel), I was able to spar on an almost collegial level about how things can best be tackled."

A merger is effected by notarial deed. From a legal perspective, the passing of that deed by the notary is the end point of the merger process. In practice, however, that is the beginning of a range of new challenges that healthcare organisations face. Behind a healthcare organisation is a multitude of registrations, permits and legal obligations for which something needs to be arranged. Consider, for instance, the side effects of a merger on the care organisation's registration in the AGB register and contracts with health insurers.

From a legal perspective, the passing of the deed by the notary is the end point of the merger process. In practice, however, that is the beginning of a range of new challenges that healthcare organisations face.

Healthcare organisations should be mindful and ensure that in the event of a merger, the necessary AGB codes are taken over or reapplied for. Healthcare organisations need such codes to declare care provided and to communicate with health insurers, healthcare offices and municipalities. The AGB register is linked to the Chamber of Commerce trade register. A change in a healthcare organisation's data in the Trade Register thus has consequences for its AGB code. This also played a role in the merger of Maasstad Hospital and the Polyclinic Pharmacy. Good communication and mutual coordination is essential here.

At the merger, the operations of the Polyclinic Pharmacy were continued by Maasstad Hospital and it was important that the merger took place without noticeable disruptions for patients and care providers. "Practice and theory can sometimes be so far apart that putting that puzzle together is quite a challenge. In doing so, you notice big differences the moment you get external legal guidance. Sparring on equal terms about more than the legal content and their accessibility makes Ploum unique in this cooperation."