Physician-hospital integration: making it work

This article discusses the driving forces for physician-hospital integration and details a range of structural integration models available to physicians and hospitals as they seek heightened collaboration. The structural model that is the "best fit" for an organization will depend on articulated goals, current stage of integration, available legal alternatives, "local" and cultural considerations, history of the parties, and other key variables. The importance of physician leadership and engagement, broadening Board members' perspectives, and other similar strategies adopted by high-performing integrated systems are reported.