A clinically integrated network is a network of providers, facilities and ancillary services who collaborate to improve and maintain the health of the people in their communities.
Many healthcare networks are reorganizing into clinically integrated networks in order to improve patient care and also reduce operating cost and redundancy.
Clinically Integrated Network benefits Consumers, Physicians, Hospitals, Insurance Companies and Employers: by
• Improving the quality and efficiency of patient care and offer integrated services
• Deploying consistent clinical protocols across the network to offer better quality and cost efficiency
• Monitoring physician and network performance by Identifying and measuring best practices to improve patient outcomes.
• Reducing overall costs of care through preventative care, proactive medical management, financial rewards for positive clinical outcomes and achieve pay-for-performance targets
By combining several small care systems into one larger, integrated network, healthcare providers can increase the efficiency and quality of the care they offer by sharing patient clinical and financial data across the network. This enables a more extensive view of the patient as well as the ability to offer coordination with multiple providers when needed.
In these networks, the patient is encouraged to be engaged, informed and share responsibility for their health. This leads me to my next topic where I will review patient engagement and how that also influences improvements in patient outcomes.