Vertical integration in the Australian community care setting: Can it work? A theoretical review of current literature

Sarah Young, Kevin Swarts, Sarah J. Prior, Douglass Doherty and Steven J. Campbell

International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 2022, vol. 37, issue 3, 1299-1310

Abstract: Vertical integration (VI) is considered a strategic management plan whereby an organisation has ownership of its supply chain. It is utilised as a method for managing the economic needs and approaches of an organisation and ensuring that a product is readily available for use. From a healthcare perspective, this pertains to the coordination of services or levels of care and allows for adaptation to changing circumstances. This study reviews existing literature on VI in a healthcare setting to assess feasibility and effectiveness of this proposed solution. A theoretical literature review was performed utilising conceptual categorisation to understand how VI may benefit community care organisations, using the needs of a local organisation as an example. Seventeen articles were included from a range of databases and grey literature with findings categorised according to two research questions. The findings suggest that for VI to be effective and efficient it is important to consider the following themes: market failure, barriers to entry, productive capabilities and specific healthcare issues. In conclusion, from a management and economic perspective, when markets are not functioning efficiently and are in disequilibrium, VI may provide an appropriate avenue to address these problems, in particular for community care organisations.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3412

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:ijhplm:v:37:y:2022:i:3:p:1299-1310

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0749-6753

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Health Planning and Management is currently edited by Calum Paton

More articles in International Journal of Health Planning and Management from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().