Measuring and evaluating the performance of vertically integrated rural health networks.
The growing interest in health care networks is extraordinary given the lack of a common understanding of what networks are and what they can accomplish. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual approach to the study of vertically integrated rural health networks. This article provides a network typology, a framework for assessing network performance, and examples of measurable performance indicators. It concludes with a description of the salient research questions that need to be addressed concerning the relationships between the environment, structure, and performance of vertically integrated rural health networks.
Institute for Health Services Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
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Moscovice
J B
JB
Christianson
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A
Wellever
D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006302:Health Services Research; D008330:Management Audit / Q000379:methods*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009935:Organizational Affiliation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D012423:Rural Health / Q000592:standards*; D018511:Systems Integration; D014481:United States