ArticleBJGP open2024
Impact of vertical integration on patients' use of hospital services in England: an analysis of activity data.
Article in BJGP open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- How to strengthen primary health care? An exploratory study on the policy of vertical integration of high-quality medical resources based on symbiosis theory.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The impact of a deep vertical medical alliance on enhancing clinical capacity and reversing patient outflow at a Chinese county hospital: a 4-year case study.Frontiers in health services · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDebate surrounding the organisation and sustainability of primary care in England highlights the desirability of a more integrated approach to patient care across all settings. One such approach is 'vertical integration', where a provider of specialist care, such as a hospital, also runs general practices.
aimTo quantify the impact of vertical integration on hospital use in England. DESIGN &
settingAnalysis of activity data for NHS hospitals in England between April 2013 and February 2020.
methodAnalysis of NHS England data on hospital activity, which looked at the following seven outcome measures: accident and emergency (A&E) department attendances; outpatient attendances; total inpatient admissions; inpatient admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions; emergency admissions; emergency readmissions; and length of stay. Rates of hospital use by patients of vertically integrated practices and controls were compared, before and after the former were vertically integrated.
resultsIn the 2 years after a GP practice changes, for the population registered at that practice, compared with controls, vertical integration is associated with modest reductions in rates of A&E attendances (2% reduction [incidence rate ratio {IRR} 0.98, 95% confidence interval {CI} = 0.96 to 0.99,
conclusionVertical integration is associated with modest reductions in use of some hospital services and no change in others.
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