{"id":20258,"date":"2018-06-06T08:31:46","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T12:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carecloud.com\/continuum\/?p=20258"},"modified":"2025-10-21T17:09:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T17:09:06","slug":"what-is-clinical-integration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carecloud.com\/continuum\/what-is-clinical-integration\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Clinical Integration?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clinical integration is a big buzzword, and it plays a large role in a healthcare market that continues to shift towards rewarding providers and health systems that can effectively manage the health of populations instead of just treating those populations when they are ill. But what does it mean? And how does clinical integration differ from <\/span>Clinically Integrated Networks<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

While Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) must have certain characteristics to legally operate as such, clinical integration refers to a broader set of activities. A clinically integrated healthcare practice or system can be part of a CIN, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>American Hospital Association<\/span><\/a> defines clinical integration as the facilitation of \u201ccoordination of patient care across conditions, providers, settings, and time in order to achieve care that is safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-focused.\u201d Because of its emphasis on coordination of care, clinical integration is sometimes referred to as \u201ccare coordination.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The tenets of Clinical integration are key to achieving the Institute for Healthcare Improvement\u2019s <\/span>\u201cTriple Aim\u201d<\/span><\/a>: <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To improve the <\/span>patient care experience<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. To improve the health of populations.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. To reduce the cost of healthcare. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Recently, many groups have focused on the Quadruple Aim rather than the Triple Aim mentioned above. The fourth element in the Quadruple Aim covers \u201cattaining joy in work\u201d, according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. <\/span><\/p>\n

    The <\/span>IHI article<\/span><\/a> continues, stating \u201c For many organizations, the fourth aim is attaining joy in work. For others, it\u2019s pursuing health equity. Some organizations highlight other priorities. The Military Health System, for example, has added readiness as their fourth aim.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    A hypothetical patient, Sara<\/h2>\n

    What can effective clinical integration look like? Let\u2019s look at a hypothetical patient, Sara.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Sara is an eleven-year-old girl with type 1 diabetes. She lives with her family in rural Colorado, over 200 miles away from the nearest pediatric hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Sara is currently managing her diabetes with insulin therapy, diet, and exercise. She regularly sees a pediatrician who is part of a PCMH-designated practice in the town where she lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Sara\u2019s pediatrician is part of a Joint Venture Physician-Hospital CIN, which allows her to leverage a broader community of experts, including one of the nation\u2019s leading pediatric endocrinologists. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Through telehealth, Sara has check-ins with a pediatric endocrinologist and a pediatric dietitian. \u201cVisiting\u201d these members of her care team virtually allows Sara to miss as little school as possible and saves her family hours of drive-time. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Sara\u2019s pediatrician involves Sara and her parents in care planning and serves as the point person for Sara\u2019s care team.<\/span><\/p>\n

    All of Sara\u2019s care providers use an electronic health record, where they are able to carefully track trends and use decision-support technology to ensure Sara remains on-target with lab work and other testing necessary to monitor her condition. <\/span><\/p>\n

    In short, Sara\u2019s care team partners with her and her family to proactively manage her type 1 diabetes. They communicate well, have clear roles on the care team, and are all working towards well-communicated, documented care goals based on best practices in pediatric diabetes care. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    What does clinical integration\/care coordination look like, more broadly? <\/b><\/h2>\n

    According to the <\/span>Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality<\/span><\/a>, clinical integration includes activities like helping with care transitions, developing proactive care plans, empowering patients to take an active role in their health, and responding to changing patient needs. It includes helping with care transitions \u2013 like a transition from the hospital to the home, for example \u2013 and connecting patients with appropriate community resources. Sometimes those resources may not be strictly medical, either. A hospital social worker might connect a patient experiencing homelessness with an application for a housing voucher, for example. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Clinical integration looks different for every practice and patient. No matter where it\u2019s implemented, however, it should improve population health management and the patient experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

    DUMMYTEXT<\/span><\/p>\n

    Sources:<\/b><\/h4>\n
      \n
    • https:\/\/www.aha.org\/websites\/2012-09-12-clinical-integration<\/span><\/li>\n
    • http:\/\/www.ihi.org\/Engage\/Initiatives\/TripleAim\/Pages\/default.aspx<\/span><\/li>\n
    • https:\/\/www.ahrq.gov\/professionals\/prevention-chronic-care\/improve\/coordination\/index.html<\/span><\/li>\n
    • http:\/\/www.ihi.org\/communities\/blogs\/the-triple-aim-or-the-quadruple-aim-four-points-to-help-set-your-strategy<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Clinical integration is a big buzzword, and it plays a large role in a healthcare market that continues to shift towards rewarding providers and health systems that can effectively manage the health of populations instead of just treating those populations when they are ill. But what does it mean? And how does clinical integration differ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[389],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-20258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources","tag-clinical"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Clinical Integration? - Continuum - CareCloud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Clinical Integration is necessary for coordinating patient care across the care continuum. 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