Integrated Care Delivery Can Reverse the U.S.'s Current Last-Place Ranking in Healthcare

Summary: The growing trend toward integrated care delivery systems can help the U.S. healthcare system refocus on its primary goals --- providing coordinated care and returning patients to their optimal health status, explains Perry Hanson, partner with Wipfli, a national accounting and business consulting firm that provides consulting, tax and audit advice for the healthcare industry. Integrated care delivery can also help the U.S. reverse its current last-place rankings in quality, access and efficiency among the global health community, he adds. Citing the success of the medical home model of care in Minnesota, Hanson calls the patient-centered model a "beacon of hope" for a beleaguered healthcare industry. Hanson and Dr. David Chin, a national partner in the Health Industries Advisory Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the managing partner of PwC's Global Healthcare Research Institute, will examine the trends that will continue to impact the healthcare industry in 2009 and how organizations can best prepare themselves for the changes that will come with the new administration during Healthcare Trends and Forecasts in 2009.