Dive Brief:
- A new study appearing in Health Affairs suggests that when hospitals engage in vertical integration, there are statistically and economically significant increases in hospital prices and spending.
- Meanwhile, researchers said, "the consequences of looser forms of vertical integration were more benign and potentially socially beneficial," Becker's Hospital Review reports.
- Looser forms of integration with more beneficial results include closed physician-hospital organizations, open physician-hospital organizations and independent practice associations.
Dive Insight:
With hospitals merging and buying medical practices at a frantic rate, the researchers said, it's important to study what happens when they do. The next step is to research what happens to patient outcomes when hospitals engage in vertical integration on an aggressive level, the Health Affairs researchers said.