The importance of understanding and measuring health system structural, functional, and clinical integration.

OBJECTIVE: We explore if there are ways to characterize health systems-not already revealed by secondary data-that could provide new insights into differences in health system performance. We sought to collect rich qualitative data to reveal whether and to what extent health systems vary in important ways across dimensions of structural, functional, and clinical integration. DATA SOURCES: Interviews with 162 c-suite executives of 24 health systems in four states conducted through "virtual" site visits between 2017 and 2019. STUDY DESIGN: Exploratory study using thematic comparative analysis to describe factors that may lead to high performance. DATA COLLECTION: We used maximum variation sampling to achieve diversity in size and performance. We conducted, transcribed, coded, and analyzed in-depth, semi-structured interviews with system executives, covering such topics as market context, health system origin, organizational structure, governance features, and relationship of health system to affiliated hospitals and POs. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Health systems vary widely in size and ownership type, complexity of organization and governance arrangements, and ability to take on risk. Structural, functional, and clinical integration vary across systems, with considerable activity around centralizing business functions, aligning financial incentives with physicians, establishing enterprise-wide EHR, and moving toward single signatory contracting. Executives describe clinical integration as more difficult to achieve, but essential. Studies that treat "health system" as a binary variable may be inappropriately aggregating for analysis health systems of very different types, at different degrees of maturity, and at different stages of structural, functional, and clinical integration. As a result, a "signal" indicating performance may be distorted by the "noise." CONCLUSIONS: Developing ways to account for the complex structures of today's health systems can enhance future efforts to study systems as complex organizations, to assess their performance, and to better understand the effects of payment innovation, care redesign, and other reforms.

Better Together? An Examination of the Relationship Between Acute Care Hospital Mergers and Patient Experience.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The United States is experiencing another wave of hospital mergers. Whether patients benefit from these mergers, however, remains an open issue for many interested stakeholders. One measure of the potential benefit of hospital mergers is how they affect patient experience. This study used a quasi-experimental design to examine the relationship between hospital mergers and four different Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) ratings (i.e., overall, physician communication, nurse communication, and staff responsiveness). The study findings showed an association between hospitals that experienced a merger and slower growth in HCAHPS scores for two of the four HCAHPS domains (overall and nurse communication) when compared to matching hospitals that did not merge. Findings from this study can guide and inform hospital administrators, health system boards, state and federal government regulators and policymakers, and others across the spectrum of healthcare stakeholders.

Merging Cultures: Organizational Culture and Leadership in a Health System Merger.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Health system mergers and acquisitions have increased exponentially in recent years as an apparent result of the Affordable Care Act. Mergers and acquisitions are seen as a way to control interdependencies within the market, control costs, leverage debt, and negotiate better rates among health insurers. Regardless of the impetus for a merger, the largest predictor of its success or failure lies within the organizational culture. The purpose of this research was to assess the current organizational culture and preferred organizational culture of two competing health organizations prior to a planned merger, and then to determine whether there were significant differences between the premerger cultures and the postmerger preferred organizational culture using the Competing Values Framework (CVF). Current culture is defined as the premerger culture as measured by the CVF, and preferred culture is defined as the self-identified preferred traits and characteristics of the postmerger culture as measured by the CVF. The study findings indicated a statistically significant difference between the premerger cultures of the health systems. However, respondents from both health systems preferred a postmerger organizational culture that was statistically the same. A review of the results along with best practices for health system leaders follows.

Intradisciplinary Nursing Communication Post Hospital Merger: A Quality Improvement Project Using Online Communities of Practice in the Intensive Care Unit.

After hospital mergers, unit work environments are at risk of being unhealthy due to poor intradisciplinary two-way communication in times of change. This quality improvement project explored the impact a 4-week, social-media-based, intradisciplinary communication strategy had on a postmerger intensive care unit work environment. The sample (N = 14) included 11 bedside nurses and three administrative nurses working in a 22-bed southwestern US ICU. The participants took part in a Facebook closed-group community of practice called Nurse to Nurse, with a total of 25.9% participation rate. Eleven participants completed the pre-Nurse to Nurse survey, a 20.4% completion rate, while eight participants completed the post-Nurse to Nurse survey, a 14.8% completion rate. After the conclusion of Nurse to Nurse, the overall mean skilled communication survey score increased to 3.79, a 1.6% improvement. Question 14, which measured zero-tolerance behavior perception, exhibited a mean of 2.3% improvement, boosting this metric to excellent status. Utilization data revealed 68 comments posted within Nurse to Nurse implementation, with 56 showing horizontal communication (73.5%) and 24 displaying vertical communication (26.5%). A total of 217 bedside nurse views (81.3%) and 50 administrative nurse views (18.7%) were noted. Nurse to Nurse, an online communication-focused community of practice, enhanced communication among bedside and administrative nurses working in a postmerger intensive care unit setting.

Hospital library closures and consolidations: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Health sciences libraries are being closed or are under threat of closure, but little is published that looks at context and causes or alternative library service delivery models such as affiliations or consolidations. There is also very little research about the effect of these changes on health care provider satisfaction, patient care, or hospital quality indicators. Preventing library closures is not always possible, but understanding some of the circumstances leading to the decision and implementation of a closure or consolidation could inform best practice management. CASE PRESENTATIONS: At a recent Medical Library Association joint chapter meeting, a panel of six librarians presented their cases of navigating a library closure or reorganization. Background information was given to highlight reasons that the decisions to reorganize or close were made. Following the case presentations, participants took part in discussion with audience members. Cases and discussion points were recorded for further research, publication, and advocacy. CONCLUSIONS: Several points from the cases are highlighted in the discussion section of the paper. An accurate reporting of US health sciences libraries and librarian staffing is needed. More needs to be written about new library service models and best practices for centralizing and maintaining library services. After a consolidation, remaining librarians will be expected to manage the effects of staff loss and site closures and so should be involved in planning and implementing these decisions. It remains to be determined how hospitals with librarians compare in patient care and other quality indicators against hospitals without librarians.

Hospital-Physician Consolidation Accelerated In The Past Decade In Cardiology, Oncology.

Consolidation of physician practices by hospitals, or vertical integration, increased across all practice types in 2007-17. Rates of growth were highest among medical and surgical specialty practices and lowest among primary care practices. There was substantial variation within the specialties, ranging from 4 percentage points in dermatology to 34 percentage points in cardiology and oncology.

Clinical laboratory: bigger is not always better.

Laboratory services around the world are undergoing substantial consolidation and changes through mechanisms ranging from mergers, acquisitions and outsourcing, primarily based on expectations to improve efficiency, increasing volumes and reducing the cost per test. However, the relationship between volume and costs is not linear and numerous variables influence the end cost per test. In particular, the relationship between volumes and costs does not span the entire platter of clinical laboratories: high costs are associated with low volumes up to a threshold of 1 million test per year. Over this threshold, there is no linear association between volumes and costs, as laboratory organization rather than test volume more significantly affects the final costs. Currently, data on laboratory errors and associated diagnostic errors and risk for patient harm emphasize the need for a paradigmatic shift: from a focus on volumes and efficiency to a patient-centered vision restoring the nature of laboratory services as an integral part of the diagnostic and therapy process. Process and outcome quality indicators are effective tools to measure and improve laboratory services, by stimulating a competition based on intra- and extra-analytical performance specifications, intermediate outcomes and customer satisfaction. Rather than competing with economic value, clinical laboratories should adopt a strategy based on a set of harmonized quality indicators and performance specifications, active laboratory stewardship, and improved patient safety.

The effect of hospital acquisitions of physician practices on prices and spending.

During the past decade, U.S. hospitals have acquired a large number of physician practices. For example, from 2007 to 2013, hospitals acquired nearly 10% of the practices in our sample. We find that the prices for the services provided by acquired physicians increase by an average of 14.1% post-acquisition. Nearly half of this increase is attributable to the exploitation of payment rules. Price increases are larger when the acquiring hospital has a larger share of its inpatient market. We find that integration of primary care physicians increases enrollee spending by 4.9%.

Surviving neoliberalism, maintaining values: Community health mergers in Victoria, Australia.

PURPOSE: Independent, not-for-profit community health services in the state of Victoria, Australia, provide one of that country's few models of comprehensive primary health care (PHC). Recent amalgamations among some such agencies created regional-sized community health organisations, in a departure from this sector's traditionally small local structure. This study explored the motivations, desired outcomes, and decision-making process behind these mergers. METHODOLOGY: Qualitative exploratory study was based on 26 semistructured interviews with key informants associated with 2 community health mergers, which took place in 2014 in Victoria, Australia. Thematic data analysis was influenced by concepts derived from institutional theory. FINDINGS: Becoming bigger by merging was viewed as the best way to respond to mounting external pressures, such as increasingly neoliberal funding mechanisms, perceived as threatening survival. Desired outcomes were driven by comprehensive PHC values, and related to creating organisational capacity to continue providing quality services to disadvantaged communities. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study offers insights into decision-making processes geared towards protecting the comprehensiveness of PHC service delivery for disadvantaged communities, ensuring financial viability, and surviving neoliberal economic policy whilst preserving communitarian values. These are relevant to an international audience, within a global context of rising health inequities, increasingly tight fiscal environments, and growing neoliberal influences on health policymaking and funding.

Trends in acquisitions of physician practices and subsequent clinical integration: A mixed methods study.

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES: The US health care system is marked by a high degree of fragmentation in both delivery and financing. Some evidence suggests that attempts to reduce fragmentation have led to significant provider consolidation, including hospital acquisitions of physician groups, or "vertical integration." The objective was to use time-series data to quantify trends in and characteristics of hospital acquisitions of physician practices. A secondary objective was to use case studies to determine the motivations for these acquisitions and to identify what integration results from these transactions. METHODS: Data on annual hospital acquisition of physician practices was used to quantify trends and characteristics of acquiring hospitals between 2006 and 2013. Four in-depth case studies, including structured interviews with hospital leadership, were then conducted of recent hospital acquisitions of primary care practices. RESULTS: Acquisitions of physician practices have been increasing over the last decade and peaked in 2011. Most acquisitions were of small primary care, multi-specialty, or cardiology practices. The case studies revealed that the primary motivation for hospital acquisitions was to increase referrals and negotiate higher payment rates. These transactions resulted in very limited clinical integration, while all acquiring hospitals sought to integrate health information systems. CONCLUSIONS: Among 4 case-studies of hospital acquisition of physician practices, the primary motivation was financial and competitive motivations. This suggests that policymakers should be mindful of the potential negative effects of these acquisitions on health care costs, as well as the uncertainty of clinical benefits. Policymakers may need supplementary strategies to deliver the goals of reduced costs and improved quality of care.

Physician Practice Consolidation Driven By Small Acquisitions, So Antitrust Agencies Have Few Tools To Intervene.

The growing concentration of physician markets throughout the United States has been raising antitrust concerns, yet the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have challenged only a small number of mergers and acquisitions in this field. Using proprietary claims data from states collectively containing more than 12 percent of the US population, we found that 22 percent of physician markets were highly concentrated in 2013, according to federal merger guidelines. Most of the increases in physician practice size and market concentration resulted from numerous small transactions, rather than a few large transactions. Among highly concentrated markets that had increases large enough to raise antitrust concerns, only 28 percent experienced any individual acquisition that would have been presumed to be anticompetitive under federal merger guidelines. Furthermore, most acquisitions were below the dollar thresholds that would have required the parties to report the transaction to antitrust authorities. Under present mechanisms, federal authorities have only limited ability to counteract consolidation in most US physician markets.

A strategic document as a tool for implementing change. Lessons from the merger creating the South-East Health region in Norway.

In 2007, the Norwegian Parliament decided to merge the two largest health regions in the country: the South and East Health Regions became the South-East Health Region (SEHR). In its resolution, the Parliament formulated strong expectations for the merger: these included more effective hospital services in the Oslo metropolitan area, freeing personnel to work in other parts of the country, and making treatment of patients more coherent. The Parliamentary resolution provided no specific instructions regarding how this should be achieved. In order to fulfil these expectations, the new health region decided to develop a strategy as its tool for change; a change "agent". SINTEF was engaged to evaluate the process and its results. We studied the strategy design, the tools that emerged from the process, and which changes were induced by the strategy. The evaluation adopted a multimethod approach that combined interviews, document analysis and (re)analysis of existing data. The latter included economic data, performance data, and work environment data collected by the South-East Health Region itself. SINTEF found almost no effects, whether positive or negative. This article describes how the strategy was developed and discusses why it failed to meet the expectations formulated in the Parliamentary resolution.

Academic Medical Centers and Community Hospitals Integration: Trends and Strategies.

Academic medical centers are widely recognized as vital components of the American health care system, generally differentiated from their community hospital peers by their tripartite mission of clinical care, education, and research. Community hospitals fill a critical and complementary role, serving as the primary sites for health care in most communities. Health care reform initiatives and economic pressures have created incentives for hospitals and health systems to integrate, resulting in a nationwide trend toward consolidation with academic medical centers leveraging their substantial assets to merge, acquire, or establish partnerships with their community peers. As these alliances accelerate, they have and will continue to affect the radiology groups providing services at these institutions. A deeper understanding of these new marketplace dynamics, changing relationships and potential strategies will help both academic and private practice radiologists adapt to this ongoing change.