Rehabilitation services in an integrated delivery system

For rehabilitation providers, managed care means cutting costs 20 percent to 40 percent and responding to a major shift from acute inpatient rehabilitation to subacute, outpatient, and home-based services. By becoming more efficient and joining integrated networks, rehabilitation providers can participate in the continuum of care and align their economic incentives with other providers and HMOs. But in this month's Director's Notebook, rehabilitation leaders also worry that the shorter lengths of stay they must impose could compromise patient recovery.