Health care collaboration on the information highway

The managed care revolution in the USA has resulted in more than $40 billion per year spent on consolidation and reorganization of health care delivery. Accompanying this revolution has been a comparable revolution in health information technology. In its recent survey of more than 500 health information networks being developed across the USA, the Community Medical Network Society (Comnet) found that integrated delivery networks (IDNs), such as those designed to support managed care organizations, are creating the greatest level of activity in the US health-care marketplace. These networks are extensions of enterprises that reach out to communities through affiliated and contracted entities to help coordinate care and control costs. At first glance, this health information revolution seems promising: IDNs could lead to improved communications among physicians for patient treatment and referral. This, in turn, should lead to improved patient care, but will US consumers actually benefit from the types of health information networks that are currently being built?