Competitive Intelligence and Decision Problems

Chapter 12

E-Health and Societal and Territorial Intelligence in France: Collective Knowledge Production Issues and New Network Interface Organizations¹

12.1. Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) considered in 2000 the French healthcare system as the best in the world. However, in late 2008, 74% of French people surveyed considered that their healthcare system was worsening on a daily basis [TRO 08]. Healthcare systems are in crisis in all developed countries. This crisis is, first and foremost, linked to finance with growing budget deficits. In a context of new limited resources, healthcare systems have gained in weight in terms of national economies: 11.5% of gross domestic product in France in 2007 (compared with 5.4% in 1970), according to the organization for economic cooperation and development (Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques). The increasing cost of the healthcare system corresponds to underlying social changes, with an ageing population, the importance of chronic diseases and the increasing use of technology in medicine. The healthcare sector depends more and more on information and communication technologies (ICT) with the development of the concept of e-health. The issues involved are representative of those encountered in our society. This development is a response to the evolution of French-style competitive intelligence (CI) which, in its societal dimensions, corresponds closely to the issues encountered in territorial intelligence. ...