Increasing Safety & Efficiency in Integrated Delivery Networks

The rise of the integrated delivery network (IDN) is contributing to higher-quality patient care, better patient outcomes, and other positive trends across the United States health care landscape.

These trends reflect how integrated delivery systems make it easier for healthcare facilities to provide patients with coordinated treatment at a lower cost. An integrated delivery network typically offers a broad spectrum of services within its network, including:

• Management of chronic disease and chronic illness
• Acute care for injuries and illnesses
• Behavioral health services
• Outpatient care and specialty pharmacy access
• Continuous, coordinated care across the full healthcare spectrum

IDNs have played a significant role in driving growth and innovation within the healthcare industry, delivering meaningful advantages while also encountering various operational challenges. But what exactly is an integrated delivery network, and how can we improve safety and efficiency to realize its full potential in care delivery?

What Are IDNs?

An integrated delivery network is a health system made up of a group of healthcare providers. These organizations own and operate a network of healthcare facilities spanning different types of inpatient and outpatient care settings, such as:

• Hospitals and acute care facilities
• Health clinics offering primary care
• Physician groups and practices, including primary care physician networks
• Ambulatory surgery centers
• Imaging centers and specialty pharmacy operations

Together, these components form a delivery network designed to coordinate care across every stage of a patient’s health journey — from a routine visit with a primary care physician to specialist visits and complex inpatient treatment.

Example of an IDN

One of the most well-known examples of an integrated delivery system in the United States is Kaiser Permanente — specifically, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and its affiliated medical groups.

Kaiser Permanente combines hospitals, outpatient clinics, and a network of physicians into a unified organization. Its key components include:

• Hospitals and medical centers: Kaiser owns and operates its own hospitals and outpatient facilities, so patients receive care within a single, coordinated system
• Physician network: Physicians employed by Kaiser Permanente, including both primary care and specialist physicians, are part of a large group practice focused on care coordination and population health management
• Health insurance: The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan provides coverage directly, simplifying payment systems and supporting value-based care goals

By integrating these healthcare services and delivery systems, Kaiser Permanente offers more coordinated, cost-efficient health services with a strong emphasis on preventive care and long-term population health outcomes.

Other prominent integrated delivery networks in the United States include:

• HCA Healthcare — one of the largest for-profit health systems in the country, operating hospitals, surgery centers, and physician groups across multiple states
• Partners Healthcare (now Mass General Brigham) — an academic health system integrating primary care, specialty care, and research across the northeastern United States
• Accountable care organization (ACO) models — a growing category of integrated delivery systems aligned around value-based care contracts and shared savings arrangements

Types of Integrated Delivery Networks

Different types of IDNs exist, categorized based on factors such as the breadth of healthcare facilities included, how strategic decisions are made around costs, care coordination, and overall care delivery. IDNs generally fall into one of the following categories:

1. Horizontal Integration (System II)

Horizontal integration IDNs focus on expanding the delivery network across similar types of healthcare facilities to increase market reach and operational efficiency. Key characteristics include:

• Typically built around multiple hospitals within a region or nationally
• May include state, government, and investor-owned health care organizations
• Focused on standardizing operations and reducing costs across like facilities

2. Vertical Integration (System III)

Vertical integration brings together a wide range of different healthcare facilities and medical centers into a single integrated delivery system. This type of health system focuses on providing a full care continuum for a patient population that spans all ages. Health services commonly included in these networks are:

• Primary care and specialty physician groups
• Behavioral health and mental health services
• Outpatient care and ambulatory surgery centers
• Prenatal care, pediatrics, and geriatric services
• Hospice and assisted living
• Specialty pharmacy operations
• Long-term care facilities

Clinical integration across these settings supports better care coordination and stronger patient outcomes. Community health IDNs, academic health systems, and faith-based health systems typically fall into this category.

3. Strategic Integration (System IV)

Strategic integration IDNs apply vertical integration principles to share healthcare resources equally across all facilities, while also using sophisticated strategy to guide care delivery decisions. These networks are frequently structured around:

• Value-based care models and accountable care organization frameworks
• Joint venture arrangements designed to optimize patient outcomes while controlling costs
• Data analytics platforms to inform strategic decisions across the delivery network
• Purchasing and resource allocation strategies that reduce operating expenses across all healthcare facilities

Key Benefits of an IDN Strategy

IDNs provide meaningful advantages in terms of patient outcomes and care delivery. These benefits apply whether the network is classified as System II, System III, or System IV.

Improved Patient Care

IDNs have a distinct advantage when it comes to providing high-quality care. With a wide delivery network connecting valuable resources and specialties, integrated delivery systems are positioned to deliver:

• Improved clinical integration and better patient outcomes
• More effective management of chronic disease and chronic illness
• Stronger care coordination across primary care, acute care, and outpatient settings
• Measurable gains in population health across the communities they serve

Access to Medicine and Specialties

Being part of an IDN means healthcare providers can address a broad spectrum of patient needs without referring patients out of network. Benefits for patients include:

• Access to specialty pharmacy services and specialist visits within the same health system
• Behavioral health and mental health support alongside physical health services
• Coordinated treatment for chronic illness, including nutrition services and ancillary care
• The right care at the right time, reducing gaps in care delivery

Market Influence

IDNs have a significant impact on market influence, which drives better control over health care costs. Advantages include:

• More affordable care for patients across the delivery network
• Lower cost structures for hospitals and other healthcare facilities
• Greater leverage in supply chain negotiations and vendor contracting
• More efficient care delivery across all facility types in the system

Regulatory Compliance

A well-structured IDN strategy supports consistent regulatory compliance across all facilities. By coordinating compliance efforts and leveraging information systems to monitor adherence, IDNs can:

• Align all healthcare providers around the same safety protocols and clinical best practices
• Maintain consistent adherence to data privacy regulations, including HIPAA
• Reduce legal risk and strengthen patient trust across the network
• Support higher standards of health care quality throughout all care settings

Value-Based Care Alignment

Modern integrated delivery networks are increasingly built around value-based care and accountable care frameworks. By connecting primary care, outpatient care, specialty services, and post-acute care under one delivery system, IDNs are well-positioned to:

• Take on risk-based contracts and participate in accountable care organization models
• Use data analytics to drive smarter strategic decisions
• Improve patient outcomes while managing costs across the population
• Support population health management goals at the community level

Navigating Challenges Faced by IDNs

While IDNs offer notable benefits, they also face significant operational difficulties. Healthcare reform and financial pressures are driving more hospitals and healthcare facilities to consolidate into these networks — and that growth brings a variety of day-to-day challenges.

Supply Chain Issues

Supply chain disruptions have affected many industries, and health care is no exception. Drug shortages directly impact patient care and patient outcomes across the delivery network. To reduce supply chain risk, IDNs are taking steps such as:

• Sourcing medications and packaging materials from trusted, compliant partners
• Building redundancy into medication packaging and distribution operations
• Bringing packaging processes in-house to reduce dependence on external vendors
• Establishing safety net protocols to minimize disruption when shortages occur

Incompatible Information Systems

Managing complex information systems across a large, multi-facility delivery network presents significant challenges. Key considerations when evaluating and upgrading these systems include:

• Usability across diverse healthcare providers, physician groups, and care settings
• Network capabilities for sharing data across ambulatory surgery centers, hospitals, and outpatient facilities
• Data management and data analytics frameworks that support population health management and informed strategic decisions
• Digital technology integration to support care coordination across the full health system

How MPI Improves Efficiency in Integrated Delivery Networks

As a leader in pharmaceutical packaging and labeling, Medical Packaging Inc., LLC (MPI) works to increase safety and efficiency within integrated delivery networks while addressing some of their most persistent operational challenges. MPI’s solutions offer the following advantages for health systems focused on accurate, compliant medication packaging and distribution:

1. Network-Wide Consistency Through Software

MPI’s Pak-EDGE® UD Barcode Labeling Software meets all industry regulations and supports centralized labeling and packaging management across the delivery network. Benefits include:

• Consistent, compliant medication labeling across all facilities in the health system
• Reduced risk of labeling errors at the point of care delivery by eliminating keystrokes through First Data Bank integration and GTIN data recall.
• Standardized workflows across physician groups, acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and outpatient facilities
• Improved traceability and data accuracy throughout the information systems supporting the IDN

2. Reducing Supply Chain Dependence

MPI’s packaging solutions help IDNs bring the packaging process in-house, providing:

• Uninterrupted access to properly packaged medications for every patient in the system
• Reduced reliance on third-party vendors susceptible to supply chain disruption
• Compliant, reliable packaging materials that align with the IDN’s quality and regulatory standards
• Greater control over the supply chain at the facility level

3. Supporting Patient Safety Across Care Settings

MPI helps improve patient safety by enabling accurate unit dose packaging across every point of care delivery, from inpatient acute care to outpatient care and specialty pharmacy environments. MPI products support:

• Accurate dosing through Auto-Print® oral solid packaging systems and Fluidose® oral liquid solutions
• Reduced risk of patients receiving incorrect medication dosages
• Barcode scanning technology for efficient, traceable medication distribution throughout the health system
• Consistent patient safety standards across all healthcare facilities in the network

Exploring MPI’s unit dose medication packaging solutions allows integrated delivery networks to see how these products can address the operational challenges of medication distribution, while supporting broader goals around patient outcomes, regulatory compliance, and value-based care.

To learn more about MPI’s unit dose supply method or specific packaging products and services for IDNs, visit our website —or contact MPI today to find the packaging solution that best fits your health system’s needs.