Hospital Mergers Promote Value and Quality

JAMA today published the report “How Would the Next President Ensure Competitiveness in the Health Care Marketplace?” which discusses consolidation. The drive to build a continuum of care that rewards value over volume is unlikely to abate because it’s what consumers demand. Building that continuum of care requires that hospitals, physicians and other caregivers work more closely together than ever to control costs and increase quality. Rather than diminishing those goals, newer more reliable data show that hospital mergers reduce costs and preserve quality. That is because tighter working relationships, much more readily accomplished by full integration through a merger, are the essential building blocks that enable hospitals to cut supply and other costs, gain access to capital and build a lasting culture of teamwork that leads to more efficient delivery of higher quality care.