The adaptive integration of supply chains: the contribution of the MAIA chains of care[L’intégration adaptative des chaînes logistiques : l’apport des chaînes de soins du dispositif MAIA]

Integration is a key concept for two fields of literature: logistics/Supply Chain Management (SCM) and health management. Their common point is to try to integrate the activities of a multitude of heterogeneous actors around a final customer/beneficiary to improve the performance and the value creation of the overall process. The double review of literature undertaken brings to the fore a theoretical discussion concerning an integration combining adaptation and adaptability, qualified in the article as adaptive integration. With an exploratory approach, the authors confront the theoretical elements with an original integration initiative of health services in France: the MAIA (Method of Action for the Integration of the services of assistance and care to preserve patients' Autonomy). The article contributes to the understanding of the adaptive integration of chains of care. Indeed, this research, which is based on the analysis of numerous and varied secondary sources, allows for the identification of the mechanisms and tools in the MAIA initiative facilitating adaptive integration. It also reveals the two modalities of process piloting to answer in an effective and efficient way the differentiated patient needs. These results open research perspectives on other contexts for which adaptive integration makes sense.