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Local Hospital Systems: Forerunners of Regional Systems?
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1992
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The hospital industry has been undergoing a major organizational shift, with local hospital systems—groups of two or more hospitals in the same company and metropolitan area—emerging as a potential model for regional system benefits. This article provides the first comprehensive analysis of the 402 identified local hospital systems. The study evaluates how well these systems have achieved core structural features of regional systems, compares results across ownership types, and discusses the challenges leaders face in realizing regional system advantages.
Summary Over the past several decades, the hospital industry has been undergoing a major organizational change that has until now been little examined. Local hospital systems (LHSs) are combinations of two or more hospitals that are in the same company and located in or around the same metropolitan areas in this country. This article presents the first detailed examination of the 402 such systems that have been identified to date. LHSs offer great potential for achieving the cost, quality, and access benefits that are often attributable to regional systems. The degree to which LHSs have attained some basic structural features expected of regional systems are examined. Differences are compared within ownership categories. Issues and challenges facing leaders in the field, should they hope to achieve the potential of regional systems, are discussed.