AHRQ Studies Suggest Integrated Health Systems Have Not Improved Patient Care
The impact of integrated health systems on the quality, cost and equity of patient care is examined in a recent AHRQ-funded special issue of the journal Health Services Research. Integrated health systems, often including hospitals, physician practices and other settings of care, have grown significantly in recent years. While these systems offer the potential to improve quality of care while reducing costs and administrative burdens, evidence has been limited on impact.
In one expert commentary, Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal, M.D., Ph.D., asserts that current payment models have led health systems to focus more on financial performance than patient outcomes. In another, former AHRQ Director and current University of California, San Diego, professor Richard Kronick, Ph.D., suggests the potential benefits of integrated systems are unlikely to occur without effective policy and regulatory oversight.
Among the articles in the special issue:
- Organizational Integration, Practice Capabilities, and Outcomes in Clinically Complex Medicare Beneficiaries.
- Primary Care Quality and Cost for Privately Insured Patients in and out of U.S. Health Systems: Evidence From Four States.
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Care for Health System‐Affiliated Physician Organizations and Non‐Affiliated Physician Organizations.
AHRQ supported this research via the agency’s Comparative Health System Performance (CHSP) Initiative, which studies the landscape, impact and trends in health systems.
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