Hospital Affiliations with HMOs and PPOs: An Analysis of Organizational andMarket Factors Influencing Engagement In Resource Exchange Relationships

摘要

The present study had two purposes. The first purpose was to understand how thescope and diversity of hospital affiliations with health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs) have changed over the past decade. Operating in an environment increasingly focused on price and efficiency, these managed care networks have become centrally positioned in the health care industry as critical distribution channel agents (DCAs) for buyers and hospital providers of health care services. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which selected market and hospital attributes, particularly those related to operational efficiency, influence the decision to affiliate with DCAs.