Unit Outcomes addressed in this Assignment:
· Recognize legal and regulatory issues in healthcare
· Understand the basic uses of financial information in decision making.
· Identify the role of finance in health care organizations
Course outcome assessed/addressed in this Assignment:
HS440-1: Describe the current financial environment in healthcare and its influence on decision making.
In Unit 1 we discussed an integrated delivery system and how it consists of a number of different types of healthcare organizations, such as hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, owned and operated as a single entity. Although integrated delivery systems offer the opportunity to coordinate all aspects of patient care under a single “umbrella,” their complexity makes the overall management process much more difficult than in smaller organizations that focus on one type of service.
a. Briefly describe the following healthcare settings:
· Hospitals
· Ambulatory care
· Home health care
· Long-term care
· Integrated delivery systems
b. What benefits are attributed to integrated delivery systems?
c. What are the challenges/drawbacks to implementing integrated delivery systems?