Increased physician–hospital integration: is this delivering what it’s costing?

In this exclusive editorial, study co-author Marah Short (Associate Director of the Center for Health and Biosciences at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, TX, USA) discusses some of her work evaluating the promises and challenges of increased physician–hospital integration. In 2019, we reported on a new meta-analysis in which researchers observed that as physicians increasingly integrate with hospitals, they may be pressured into offering a greater volume of services to patients. These are associated with higher healthcare costs but not greater healthcare quality. In this exclusive editorial, study co-author Marah Short (Associate Director of the Center for Health...