Improving the cost, quality, and access to healthcare in community hospitals through the use of reorganized integrated delivery systems and implementation of sophisticated clinical information systems: an organizational experience.

It is well recognized that health care is undergoing fundamental and necessary change. These changes rival, if not exceed, changes that have occurred in other industries. The factors underlying the changes are varied, but fundamentally, the economics of health care have altered. A new economic model is evolving that is disciplined by the marketplace and/or regulatory determination of "price" on a per capita basis. Success in this new model will require integrated delivery systems (IDS) serving local communities linked to purchasers through affiliations that span broader geographic areas. The demands of this model are placing unparalleled requirements for change on health care providers including the need to develop new forms of delivery systems and implement sophisticated new information systems that allow collection and detailed analysis of important clinical and financial data in an effort to achieve better value in health care. A case study of the Health and Hospital Services, Inc. (HHS) integrated delivery system and information system strategy will be discussed.