Integration of Health System
Over the years, vertical and horizontal integrated delivery systems have been regarded as the panacea for the many problems that face the healthcare delivery system. In this regard, two integrated health systems will be appraised. For the horizontally integrated health system, the Mayo clinic will be considered while for the vertically integrated health system, the Intermountain Health Care, Inc. (IHC) will be considered.
The Intermountain Health Care, Inc. (IHC), is the leading hospital chain and HCO in the entire Intermountain West (Burns, 2014). The IHC has a capacity of 23 hospitals and it caters for the needs of over 425,000 persons in its main region, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. This vertically integrated health systems doesn’t not only have hospitals but also has 75 clinics including health insurance plans for families, individual persons, corporations and institutions. The Intermountain Health Care, Inc. has also affiliations with more than 2,500 physicians including the more than 400 who are employed. The Mayo Clinic on the other hand is situated in Rochester Minnesota and it is the biggest and the first integrated not for profit medical group practice globally (Nisen, 2013). Additionally, the medical practice has a huge presence in Jackson Ville in Florida and in Phoenix Arizona. The Mayo Clinic equally has a wider coverage compared to the Intermountain Health Care, Inc. and it employs over 3,800 doctors and scientists and more than 60,000 associated staff. Additionally, the Mayo clinic owns and runs some medical colleges such as the Mayo School of medicine among others. Mayo clinic has a focus on treating difficult cases via tertiary care with an annual budget in excess of $500 million.
The Intermountain Health Care, Inc. is a pioneer of numerous innovative management techniques among the not for profit health care sector leading to cheaper quality care. In this regard, it offers one of the leading services in heart care, brain and spine care, pediatrics, surgical services, women’s health, cancer care and women’s health.
Rationale for pursuing integration and used strategies
The rationale behind Mayo’s model of care is intertwined with its goals, mission and vision for patient care. Mayo clinic’s mission holds that it aims at providing the best possible care for each patient daily via an integrated clinical practice, research and education. Additionally, the set objectives underpin the purpose for integration which are in line with Mayo’s core principle for practice (Valentijn, et al., 2013). These objectives include the practice of medicine as an assimilated team of a multidisciplinary team of compassionate doctors, scientists and associated health experts who are keen on the patient’s needs and also of the needs of communities and the world at large.
In this regard, the Clinic has employed effectual strategies that have been effective in ensuring integration. For instance, the clinic has fully integrated its science and doctor researchers into the Clinic who work quite closely with the physicians in understanding client needs. In this regard, the ‘three legged stool approach’ is used to achieve integration. First, focus is given in driving quality , secondly, accelerated speed in inculcating research work into patient care is achieved in what is referred to as ‘knowledge delivery’. Lastly, the clinic has created a huge workforce that helps in the delivery of its goals (Nisen, 2013).
The Intermountain Health Care on the other hand pursues integration to improve the overall services and medical care offered to clients. Through the vertical system, lower costs can be achieved by the improvement of cost structures hence payments can be made to clients who are unable to pay for health care services. Additionally, clinical excellence is attained. The integration strategy employed by Intermountain Health Care includes improving its research arm, improving the entire process of medical care and by increasing its scope of services and partnerships. Business and health care-related implications
Various implications abound with the selected integrated Health Care systems. To begin with, the vertically integrated health system of the Intermountain Health Care, Inc. (IHC) offers outstanding clinical care which is in tandem with its mission. This is achieved by improving the treatment of some of the chronic diseases by sharing best medical practices on the same thereby raising the standards (Shaw, Rosen, & Rumbold, 2011). Through integration also, service quality has been greatly improved also. Members can thus acquire help in getting a doctor, accessing medical records and lay claims all via a secure website. Financially, the vertical integrated model doesn’t not offer cost reductions by merely following the economies of scale as Burns & Pauly (2002) opines. Conversely, improving costs is achieved by improving the entire process of medical care.
The Horizontal integration system such as Mayo Clinic’s achieves the same purpose of the vertical model of cutting costs and offering cost effective service albeit differently. Through mergers, multihospital systems and strategic alliances with nearby hospitals thereby forming local networks, the same purposes are achieved but in a stronger way due to the wider coverage.
References
Burns, A. S. (2014, March 31). The Way Forward for Integrated Care. Retrieved from Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics: http://ldi.upenn.edu/way-forward-integrated-care
Burns, L. R., & Pauly, M. V. (2002). Integrated delivery networks: a detour on the road to integrated health care?. Health affairs, 21(4), 128-143.
Nisen, M. (2013, February 23). Mayo Clinic CEO: Here's Why We've Been The Leading Brand In Medicine For 100 Years. Retrieved from Business Insider : http://www.businessinsider.com/how-mayo-clinic-became-the-best-brand-in-medicine-2013-2
Valentijn, P. P., Schepman, S. M., Opheij, W., & Bruijnzeels, M. A. (2013). Understanding integrated care: a comprehensive conceptual framework based on the integrative functions of primary care. International Journal of Integrated Care, 13(1).
Shaw, S., Rosen, R., & Rumbold, B. (2011). What is integrated care. An overview of integrated care in the NHS. London: The Nuffield Trust.
