Bettine Pluut, Ph.D.

Achterstraat 52
4132 VE Vianen
The Netherlands

Email: bettine@pluutpartners.nl
Phone: 0031618680012
Web: http://www.bettinepluut.nl (in Dutch)
Twitter: @bettinepluut 
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bettinepluut

As a reflexive practitioner, Bettine is committed to exploring the ways of making a relational constructionist meta-theory actionable. She is particularly interested in how processes of inquiry can empower actors to work with discursive diversity. Reflexivity, multi-voiced dialogue, discourse analysis, ethics, and patient-centeredness are important themes in her work.

Bettine Pluut studied Policy and Organisation Studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. She finished her Master in 2006 (cum laude), after which she started working as a consultant and researcher. The research and consultancy firm Zenc turned out to be an impactful working context for her. Together with her colleagues she passionately explored the ways in which public organizations are able to better deliver public services. One way of doing this is by listening to the stories of clients, and by stimulating reflections on these stories so that new ways of organizing could be invented. In addition, she got increasingly enthusiastic about the ways in which information exchange could help stakeholders deal with complex societal challenges and could help to meet the needs and demands of those receiving public services.

The experiences of her ill father and other family members and friends stimulated Bettine to start an exploration of the ways in which healthcare could be made a better place for patients. She soon developed the view that much was to be gained from a better exchange of health information amongst healthcare professionals and between healthcare professionals and patients. Consequently, Bettine increasingly started to participate in projects in the area of Health Information Exchange (HIE). Examples included her involvement in the national infrastructure for HIE in the Netherlands and eHealth projects that aimed at creating digital healthcare services through so-called “patient portals”.

Inspired by the dialogues with her supervisor at Tilburg University, Professor Dian Marie Hosking, Bettine decided to continue her academic activities as aPhD candidate. She did this as a “reflexive practitioner”: she made her work as a consultant one of the subjects of her PhD inquiry. This way she was able to have her PhD journey benefit from her consultancy work and vice versa. Relational constructionism helped her to develop hands-on insights into the challenge of dealing with diversity. In addition, it taught her more about the exciting potentials of reflexivity and dialogue. Last, it helped her to articulate and find answers to important ethical questions that emerge during discussions on Health Information Exchange. The rights and responsibilities of patients are an important theme in her work for public service and healthcare organizations.

Since 2009 Bettine has operated as an independent organizational consultant and researcher, working for healthcare organizations, patient associations, competence centers, and governmental bodies. Including patients in conversations about healthcare is an important aspect of her work. By stimulating multi-stakeholder dialogues, she hopes to facilitate changes from within healthcare in ways that make healthcare a healthy and healing environment for all those who co-create it.

Bettine lives in Vianen, the Netherlands, together with Merijn en their three kids, Joshua, Wende en Mirko.

Selected publications: bettine@pluutpartners.nl Achterstraat 52
4132 VE Vianen
The Netherlands

Email: info@bettinepluut.nl
Phone: 0031618680012
Web: http://www.bettinepluut.nl (in Dutch)
Twitter: @bettinepluut 
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bettinepluut

As a reflexive practitioner, Bettine is committed to exploring the ways of making a relational constructionist meta-theory actionable. She is particularly interested in how processes of inquiry can empower actors to work with discursive diversity. Reflexivity, multi-voiced dialogue, discourse analysis, ethics, and patient-centeredness are important themes in her work.

Bettine Pluut studied Policy and Organisation Studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. She finished her Master in 2006 (cum laude), after which she started working as a consultant and researcher. The research and consultancy firm Zenc turned out to be an impactful working context for her. Together with her colleagues she passionately explored the ways in which public organizations are able to better deliver public services. One way of doing this is by listening to the stories of clients, and by stimulating reflections on these stories so that new ways of organizing could be invented. In addition, she got increasingly enthusiastic about the ways in which information exchange could help stakeholders deal with complex societal challenges and could help to meet the needs and demands of those receiving public services.

The experiences of her ill father and other family members and friends stimulated Bettine to start an exploration of the ways in which healthcare could be made a better place for patients. She soon developed the view that much was to be gained from a better exchange of health information amongst healthcare professionals and between healthcare professionals and patients. Consequently, Bettine increasingly started to participate in projects in the area of Health Information Exchange (HIE). Examples included her involvement in the national infrastructure for HIE in the Netherlands and eHealth projects that aimed at creating digital healthcare services through so-called “patient portals”.

Inspired by the dialogues with her supervisor at Tilburg University, Professor Dian Marie Hosking, Bettine decided to continue her academic activities as aPhD candidate. She did this as a “reflexive practitioner”: she made her work as a consultant one of the subjects of her PhD inquiry. This way she was able to have her PhD journey benefit from her consultancy work and vice versa. Relational constructionism helped her to develop hands-on insights into the challenge of dealing with diversity. In addition, it taught her more about the exciting potentials of reflexivity and dialogue. Last, it helped her to articulate and find answers to important ethical questions that emerge during discussions on Health Information Exchange. The rights and responsibilities of patients are an important theme in her work for public service and healthcare organizations.

Since 2009 Bettine has operated as an independent organizational consultant and researcher, working for healthcare organizations, patient associations, competence centers, and governmental bodies. Including patients in conversations about healthcare is an important aspect of her work. By stimulating multi-stakeholder dialogues, she hopes to facilitate changes from within healthcare in ways that make healthcare a healthy and healing environment for all those who co-create it.

Bettine lives in Vianen, the Netherlands, together with Merijn en their three kids, Joshua, Wende en Mirko.

Selected publications: