title: Vertical integration and diversification of acute care hospitals: conceptual definitions.
abstract: The terms vertical integration and diversification, although used quite frequently, are ill-defined for use in the health care field. In this article, the concepts are defined--specifically for nonuniversity acute care hospitals. The resulting definitions are more useful than previous ones for predicting the effects of vertical integration and diversification.
mesh_terms: D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000145:classification*; D006754:Hospital Restructuring / Q000145:classification*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010934:Planning Techniques; D013597:Systems Analysis; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States