Hospitals Swallowing Independent Practices—New Research Finds the Vertical Integration Leads to Higher Costs, Worse Patient Health Outcomes
BALTIMORE, MD, August 31, 2023 – It’s been adopted more regularly across U.S. healthcare systems – vertical integration is when physicians work directly for hospitals rather than independent practices. The intention is to have positive outcomes for patients, but new research forthcoming in the INFORMS journal Management Science finds that vertical integration is leading to higher costs and worse health outcomes, thanks to improperly aligned financial incentives.