Envisioning an Integrated Healthcare Future

The world of healthcare is changing. Regardless of opinions of the Affordable Care Act and its inherent benefits and challenges, one thing is clear: We cannot continue on the current path. Within the next 20 years, healthcare costs in the United States are anticipated to account for 25% of the gross domestic product. It is estimated that up to one-third of the dollars spent on healthcare are spent on duplicative or needless assessments, studies and interventions. Thus, there is an opportunity to reduce cost while improving quality of service. This concept is perhaps best captured by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Triple Aim:  Better health, better healthcare and reduced costs.

These changes in healthcare are needed and long overdue. Indeed, there is an incredible opportunity to return the focus of healthcare to the patient via integration of healthcare providers, the intelligent use of data and an outcomes orientation. Ideally this new healthcare landscape will allow for time-appropriate and needs-matched care for all of our patients. This includes primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary prevention strategies, as well as appropriate response to time-critical injuries and illnesses. We do not (and should not) enter into this season of change with cost reduction as the primary focus; rather, we know that if we accomplish our goal of high-quality, patient-focused care we will enjoy the remarkable side effect of cost reduction.

Knowing what is right and making it so are clearly two different enterprises. We are very pleased to launch this inaugural issue of Integrated Healthcare Delivery. This journal endeavors to provide a forum for innovation and a communication portal for those wishing to translate the best science into an integrated, patient-focused environment. Throughout the articles and other content of this journal, it is our commitment to remain patient-centered and outcomes-driven, rather than focused on a single dimension or profession of the healthcare experience. Our goal is to become the interprofessional destination of choice for concepts and studies related to integrated healthcare delivery. Rigorous scientific studies are always welcome, but so are manuscripts describing novel strategies, pilot projects, preliminary experience, and unique approaches to integration of care across disciplines and spanning professions.

We look forward to an incredible, integrated future.

Eric Beck, DO, NREMT-P, Associate Chief Medical Officer, American Medical Response and Evolution Health

Jeff Beeson, DO, Medical Director, Emergency Physicians Advisory Board, Ft. Worth, TX

Brent Myers, MD, MPH, FACEP, Medical Director, Wake County EMS System, NC