Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen

What Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen does

Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen (SAZ) is a Dutch non-profit association (vereniging) of 28 regional general hospitals headquartered in Utrecht. Its functional mandate is to coordinate collective action among members around six thematic programs: value-based care (Waardegedreven Zorg), acute care, patient safety, data & AI, digital contact, and transmural collaboration ("Juiste zorg op de juiste plek"). SAZ operates a small central bureau of 5 staff (1 director, 3 program managers, 1 program support) and is governed by a board drawn from member hospital administrators, with the strategic objective of moving from a hospital-centric model toward a regional "health organization" model anchored in local care networks.

SAZ's core products are collectively developed shared services rather than discrete SaaS offerings. The portfolio includes: (1) BeterDichtbij, a secure digital patient-provider messaging platform co-founded by SAZ in 2018 that now serves 50+ healthcare organizations, 26,000+ professionals and nearly one million patients nationwide; (2) the Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen (EZA), launched in 2021, which co-develops CE-marked AI prediction models with member hospitals — EzaPredictive 1.0 (May 2025) forecasts ED length of stay, admission probability, and clinical length of stay, with EPD integration; (3) the SAZ Waardegedreven Zorg program, an 18-month value-based care benchmarking cycle powered by Logex dashboards; and (4) three formal knowledge networks (AI, Patient Safety, Acute Care) that run mirror sessions (spiegelbijeenkomsten) to drive peer learning. SAZ retains co-ownership of BeterDichtbij alongside Medworq, NVZ (since 2022), and the original founders.

The business model is a membership-association subscription funded by contributions from the 28 member hospitals, supplemented by shared-service licensing economics from the EZA AI algorithms, which are made available both to members and to the broader Dutch hospital market. Commercial pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated collectively. The go-to-market motion is community-led and co-creative: SAZ pools member hospitals to develop shared infrastructure (AI, digital communication, benchmarking) that no individual regional hospital could afford alone, then distributes these capabilities back to members and increasingly to the wider Dutch healthcare ecosystem.

Name

Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen

Legal name

Vereniging van Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen

Website

https://saz-ziekenhuizen.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen (SAZ) is a Dutch non-profit association of 28 regional general hospitals that collectively develops shared services, including the BeterDichtbij digital messaging platform, the Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen AI center, and value-based care benchmarking programs for its member network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospital Network Association Services

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLACAAAK

Care Team Collaboration, Secure Messaging & Clinical Communication within EHR

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Digital Health & Health IT/Electronic Health Records (EHR/EMR) & Clinical Documentation

SECONDARYBPAHALAN

Healthcare Outcomes & Real-World Evidence (RWE) Analytics

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

SECONDARYHLALAKAD

EHR/EMR Integration & Interoperability Middleware (HL7/FHIR)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Telehealth Platforms/Telehealth Infrastructure & Enablement Platforms (video, scheduling, EHR integration)

Keywords

• Hospital network association
• Value-based healthcare programs
• Healthcare AI algorithms
• Digital patient communication
• Regional care coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: SAZ operates as a membership association of 28 regional Dutch hospitals. Revenue is generated through membership contributions from member hospitals, which fund the bureau operations, knowledge networks, shared service development, and collective advocacy activities.
2. Shared Service Licensing (Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen): The Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen develops and licenses AI algorithms and EzaPredictive models to SAZ member hospitals and broader Dutch hospital market. The SAZ holds co-ownership/partnership in this initiative, generating value through collective development that lowers per-hospital cost.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen (SAZ) is a non-profit membership association of 28 regional Dutch hospitals that coordinates collective programs in value-based care, patient safety, acute care, transmural collaboration, digital patient contact, and data & AI. Its key sellable offerings are the BeterDichtbij secure messaging platform (used by 50+ healthcare organizations and nearly one million patients) and the Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen, which co-develops CE-marked AI prediction models (EzaPredictive 1.0) integrated into hospital electronic patient records for emergency department length of stay, admission probability, and clinical length of stay.

Product overview

Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen (SAZ) is a network organization of 28 regional Dutch hospitals focused on transforming from hospital-based care to health organizations. The product portfolio centers on three main offerings: (1) BeterDichtbij - a digital communication platform for secure patient-provider messaging; (2) Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen with its EzaPredictive 1.0 suite of CE-marked AI prediction models for ED length of stay, admission probability, and clinical outcomes; and (3) the SAZ Waardegedreven Zorg Programma for value-driven care with mirror meetings and benchmarking via data partner Logex. Additionally, SAZ operates several knowledge networks (kennisnetwerken) for AI, patient safety, and acute care where member hospitals share expertise. The SAZ Kennisnetwerk AI ensures algorithms address real clinical needs, while knowledge networks for patient safety and acute care facilitate peer learning across member institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen: Healthcare algorithms center that develops machine learning algorithms in co-creation with healthcare professionals, based on data from member hospitals
• BeterDichtbij

Products and services

• BeterDichtbij Secure digital messaging platform enabling safe personal contact between patients and their healthcare providers; allows patients to message their own doctor or care provider via an app. Used by 26,000+ healthcare professionals and nearly one million patients across 50+ healthcare organizations in the Netherlands.
• Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen (EZA) Healthcare algorithms expertise center that co-develops machine learning algorithms with member hospitals, producing scalable, affordable, CE-marked AI prediction models usable across Dutch hospitals with full transparency on prediction factors and hospital-owned data.
• EzaPredictive 1.0 First CE-marked AI prediction model suite from Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen, predicting ED length of stay, admission probability, and clinical length of stay, integrated directly into hospital electronic patient records.
• SEH-druktemeter (Emergency Department Congestion Meter) AI-driven meter that forecasts patient flow and crowding levels at emergency departments, enabling proactive capacity planning and reducing workload on SEH staff.
• No-Show Prediction Algorithm Algorithm developed by the Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen to predict no-show rates at outpatient clinic appointments, supporting capacity planning and reducing unused clinical capacity.
• SAZ Waardegedreven Zorg Programma (Value-Based Care Program) Value-driven care program in which SAZ hospitals openly compare clinical outcomes, treatment costs, and care pathways using existing clinical registration data, structured into 18-month mirror-session trajectories and partnered with Logex for benchmarking dashboards.
• SAZ Kennisnetwerk AI (AI Knowledge Network) Knowledge network where healthcare professionals from SAZ member hospitals share experiences with AI implementation and ensure algorithms deliver practical clinical value, with peer learning and practice-near co-development.
• SAZ Kennisnetwerk Patiëntveiligheid (Patient Safety Knowledge Network) Patient safety knowledge network offering members a platform to learn from each other on patient safety topics including incident investigation, improvement measures, and Safety-II resilience practices.
• SAZ Kennisnetwerk Acute Zorg (Acute Care Knowledge Network) Acute care knowledge network where emergency department doctors and acute care managers from SAZ member hospitals share knowledge and experiences to strengthen regional acute care delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% participant satisfaction — 93% of SAZ Waardegedreven Zorg program participants would recommend the program to colleagues
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• BeterDichtbijcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018BeterDichtbij is a secure digital messaging platform enabling easy and safe personal contact between patients and healthcare providers. SAZ co-founded BeterDichtbij in 2018 together with Medworq, Godfried Bogaerts and Sander Bijl, making it a self-standing organization. SAZ remains a co-owner. BeterDichtbij has grown to serve 50+ healthcare organizations, 26,000+ professionals, and nearly one million patients across the Netherlands.
• LogexcoreTechnology or IntegrationLogex is the data analytics partner for the SAZ Waardegedreven Zorg (Value-Based Care) program. Logex couples clinical outcome data with DBC (diagnosis-treatment combination) and cost data, presenting it in an open benchmarking dashboard used during mirror sessions. Logex provides the analytical foundation for SAZ's value-based care initiatives across multiple patient groups including hip fracture, colorectal cancer, and maternity care.
• NivelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNivel (Netherlands institute for health services research) collaborated with SAZ on two major research projects: (1) a 2019-2020 cross-hospital analysis of incident reports from 28 SAZ hospitals, focusing on emergency department diagnostics, anticoagulation care, critically ill patients, and medical technology; (2) a 2023 follow-up Safety-II research project funded by ZonMw, examining resilience in care teams using the RAG-NL (Resilience Analysis Grid) tool.
• MediriskcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedirisk partnered with Nivel and the 28 SAZ hospitals in the 2023 Safety-II research project 'Cross-cutting learning from incidents, translating to improvement in practice', using the RAG-NL (Resilience Analysis Grid) as a Safety-II intervention tool to help teams handle practice variation resiliently.
• ZonMwcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZonMw (Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development) awarded a subsidy to the SAZ and Nivel for Safety-II research examining how improvement measures can best fit daily practice within the SAZ hospital network, using the RAG-NL resilience analysis tool.
• Bart-Jan Verhoeff (Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen co-initiator)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBart-Jan Verhoeff, internist-nephrologist and former CMIO of Ziekenhuis St Jansdal, co-initiated the Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen with SAZ. The Expertisecentrum develops machine learning algorithms from hospital data, with the aim of supporting clinical decision-making. EzaPredictive 1.0 is the first CE-marked AI output of this collaboration.
• IKNL and DHD (PLUGIN Infrastructure)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen is collaborating with IKNL (Netherlands Cancer Registry) and DHD (Dutch Hospital Data) on the PLUGIN infrastructure, a next-generation platform for developing algorithms targeting clinical deterioration (ICU admission or death), delirium prediction, and discharge vulnerability based on readmission or mortality risk.
• MEDxAIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Expertisecentrum Zorgalgoritmen collaborates with startup MEDxAI to accelerate implementation of an innovative algorithm for cardiologists, combining the Expertisecentrum's technical expertise with in-network clinical knowledge. This partnership is co-funded by Kansen voor West, partially financed by the European Union.
• Martini Ziekenhuis GroningenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZorgSaam developed its enhanced ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) program for colorectal surgery in collaboration with Martini Ziekenhuis Groningen, which guided the implementation of ERAS guidelines and organized joint training sessions and work visits.
• LinneanmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAZ collaborates with Linnean (the Dutch learning network for appropriate care) in a national working group for Value-Based Maternity Care (Waardegedreven Geboortezorg), alongside Santeon, College Perinatale Zorg, and primary care midwives. The goal is national collaboration on value-based maternity care where all Dutch maternity care providers can find and strengthen each other.
• SanteonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAZ works with Santeon (a group of top Dutch teaching hospitals) in the national working group for Value-Based Maternity Care, contributing to cross-hospital learning and quality improvement in maternity care across the Netherlands.
• College Perinatale Zorg (CPZ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAZ partners with the College Perinatale Zorg (Dutch perinatal care authority) in the national working group for Value-Based Maternity Care, aligning SAZ hospital initiatives with national perinatal care quality frameworks.
• 28 SAZ Member Hospitals (Zeeland Care Coalition and Regional Networks)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAZ's core partnership is with its 28 member hospitals, which collaborate on all major programs. Beyond the hospital network, SAZ members participate in formal regional care networks including the Zeeland Care Coalition (Zeeuwse Zorgcoalitie), the Mooi Maasvallei network (Pantein), and ROAZ (Regional Acute Care Chain Consultation) structures, integrating hospital care with GPs, home care, nursing homes, municipalities, and welfare organizations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Zorgverzekeraars Nederland (ZN): Dutch association of healthcare insurers. Comparable as a major Dutch healthcare stakeholder shaping policy on Integraal Zorgakkoord and Passende Zorg that SAZ's programs align with; differs as a payer-side association rather than a provider-side hospital network.
• Nictiz: Dutch national competence center for healthcare IT, interoperability, and information standards (HL7/FHIR). Comparable as a Dutch healthcare IT infrastructure organization relevant to SAZ's EPD integration and interoperability strategy; differs as a national standards body rather than a hospital network.
• Federatie Medisch Specialisten: Dutch federation representing medical specialists. Comparable as a national Dutch healthcare professional/quality organization collaborating on guidelines, quality programs, and clinical best practices; differs as a specialist federation rather than a hospital association, and works alongside SAZ on shared quality agendas.
• Logex: Healthcare analytics and benchmarking vendor serving Dutch hospitals. Comparable as the data partner underpinning SAZ's Waardegedreven Zorg benchmarking dashboards and DBC/cost analytics; differs as a commercial analytics vendor rather than a hospital membership organization.

Broad incumbents

• NHS Providers: UK membership organization for NHS acute, ambulance, community, and mental health trusts. Comparable as a hospital/trust membership association providing collective advocacy, networking, and improvement support; differs in covering the UK NHS trust spectrum rather than regional Dutch hospitals.
• Vizient: US healthcare performance improvement company serving hospital and provider members with analytics, benchmarking, and supply-chain services. Comparable in offering member-hospital benchmarking and performance improvement programs analogous to SAZ's Waardegedreven Zorg; differs as a US commercial-scale incumbent with a broader analytics portfolio.
• Premier Inc. US healthcare alliance of hospitals and health systems providing performance improvement, supply chain, and data analytics. Comparable as a hospital-member collaborative built around shared data and improvement programs; differs as a US publicly traded incumbent serving thousands of hospitals rather than 28 Dutch regional hospitals.

Direct peers

• Santeon: Collaborative group of seven top Dutch teaching hospitals focused on value-based care and shared improvement programs. Highly comparable to SAZ's hospital-collaborative model, mirror sessions, and value-based care agenda; differs in focusing on teaching hospitals rather than regional general hospitals and partnering with SAZ in the national maternity-care working group.
• Nederlandse Vereniging van Ziekenhuizen (NVZ): The broader Dutch hospital association representing all Dutch hospitals (general, academic, and categorical). Comparable to SAZ as a hospital membership association in the Netherlands and a co-owner of BeterDichtbij since 2022; differs in covering the entire hospital spectrum rather than only regional general hospitals.

Emerging players

• Linnean: Dutch learning network for appropriate care (Passende Zorg). Comparable in driving value-based and outcome-driven care across Dutch providers; differs in being a broader cross-sector network rather than a hospital association, and actively partners with SAZ in the national Waardegedreven Geboortezorg working group.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sazziekenhuizen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/samenwerkende-algemene-ziekenhuizen-saz

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Samenwerkende Algemene Ziekenhuizen