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Do Integrated Health Systems Fit the Future?
World Health Care Blog, June 20, 2007

There have been many renowned healthcare experts who have recommended integrated health systems (ISHs), combining hospitals and medical groups, as the best way to deliver health care.  With the current push for health information technology, for example, ISHs are more likely to be able to afford the investments necessary to create and maintain state-of-the-art information, as well as medical care technologies.  They can offer a coordinated source of care meeting almost all of a population’s healthcare needs, and ensure continuity of care over time.

Some of the largest and most successful healthcare providers are IHS, such as Kaiser Permanente, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, and Geisinger Clinic in Pennsylvania, all of which offer HMO health insurance along with integrated care.  Perhaps the most widely known health care “brand” in the world, the Mayo Clinic, is an IHS, with multiple national locations, though no HMO plan, as is true for the Cleveland Clinic as well….