In the decentralisation of the Wmo and Youth Act, municipalities have been given the statutory task for the implementation of the Wmo and Youth Act. In the context of Organizing Together, municipalities have asked the VNG to organize the services related to messaging between municipalities and healthcare providers on behalf of the municipalities. Standardized messaging is the starting point. The aim of the Healthcare Providers Node is therefore to help guarantee continuity for the purpose of data exchange in the chain between Municipalities and Healthcare Providers.

In the performance of the statutory tasks located in the Wmo and Youth Act, Care Providers and Municipalities use the Wmo message traffic service and Youth Act message traffic respectively. Via the so-called i-standards, messages are exchanged via the Healthcare Providers Node (KZA, currently managed by VECOZO) and the Municipal Data Hub (GGk, of the Intelligence Bureau). These messages contain information about, among other things, the indication of a care assignment, start, mutations and change or termination of care. The aforementioned messages can be regarded as 'registration messages'. In addition, there are 'declaration messages', with which the Healthcare Provider can claim the costs incurred in delivering the care to the Municipality. Since decentralisation in 2015, the Wmo and Youth Act messaging has grown into a mature and stable service.

The nodes unburden the Healthcare Providers and Municipalities because the routing of messages is carried out centrally. For example, the Municipality only links to the GGk to connect with the thousands of Healthcare Providers and links an intermediary, usually a software supplier, from the) Healthcare Provider to the KZA to connect with all Municipalities in the Netherlands. In addition to continuity of the funded service, both nodes ensure a secure and reliable data exchange in the chain. The KZA essentially provides high-quality services by an independent Supplier, who is able to give professional substance to the continuation of the existing node supply. The services offered contribute to uniformity in the digital processing of messages in the municipal and healthcare sector, which leads to administrative burden reduction.

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Association of Dutch Municipalities

The (requested management of the) KZA has roughly two main tasks; a ('hard') technical main task (forwarding messages, routing) and a ('soft') directing / coordinating / supervisory main task towards (software suppliers of) healthcare providers.

The directing / coordinating / supervisory main task requires an independent role / position in the Healthcare Provider field and its software suppliers, up-to-date knowledge of (the problems in) the healthcare domain and the Healthcare Providers, authority and an autonomous position in the field, and an awareness of this delicate position.

The KZA is purchased as a service by the VNG for the benefit of its members and is made available free of charge to healthcare providers. This should remain the case even after the call for tenders.