Strategic implications of developing integrated levels of care

Current reimbursement mechanisms provide incentives for health systems to develop or have access to and utilize a variety of postacute care settings, but not necessarily to provide integrated care across those settings. While most health care systems speak of providing integrated care, few actually do. Several market forces are now making health systems reexamine how care is provided across the continuum and creating the incentives for health systems to integrate care across each level within the continuum. This article describes how to develop integrated levels of care and the strategic implications of doing so.