First Health Park Opens in Georgia: Brings Integrated Clinical Services to the Community, Including Clinical Pathology Laboratory Testing
Health parks are one way health systems will respond to both the demand for integrated care and the need to expand access to those newly-insured because of the ACA law
In Georgia, WellStar Health System, a five-hospital health system, recently opened the first of a series of planned “health parks.” This is a new concept that assembles many different types of health services into a single setting. Medical laboratory testing is expected to be one of the clinical services contained within these health parks.
The arrival of health parks must be viewed from the perspective of accountable care organizations (ACO), medical homes, and similar care delivery models that share the goal of delivering integrated clinical care to patients. Given the essential role of clinical laboratory testing in diagnosis and treatment, it is likely that health parks will establish and offer in-house medical laboratory testing capabilities. (more…)
