Implementing Vertical Integration Healthcare Services in a Vietnamese Private Healthcare System: A Participatory Action Research

Vertical integration in healthcare involves the consolidation of various healthcare entities operating at different levels of the care continuum, functioning as a unified system. This strategic approach aims to improve patient care by enhancing comprehensiveness, continuity, and efficiency, patients outcomes ultimately leading to increased organizational effectiveness and profitability. Definition: A vertically integrated healthcare system provides a broad range of services, either directly or through partnerships, encompassing a spectrum of care levels, such as primary care, specialty care, acute inpatient care, rehabilitation, long-term care, and home healthcare (Conrad et al 1990; Ramsay et al 2009). Dimensions of Vertical Integration: Breadth of Integration: The range of diagnoses and services offered by the vertically integrated system. This could involve a comprehensive spectrum of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). Internal vs. External Sourcing: The degree to which the system relies on internally developed services and resources compared to outsourcing to external providers.