Network integration: the impact of integrated delivery systems. Roundtable discussion.

One of the hottest, most competitive segments of the healthcare IS industry encompasses integration tools and systems for linking divergent, best-of-breed systems. As firms such as Healthcare Communications, HUBLink, Oacis, Software Technologies Corp., Century Analysis and Eagle Innovations vie for new contracts, CIOs and IS directors wonder about the strategic advantages of single-vendor solutions vs. the best-of-breed approach. This dynamic has driven system acquisitions for several years. More recently, 33 percent of respondents to the 1995 HIMSS/HP Survey cited integration across separate facilities as their No. 1 priority for the next two years. Clearly the emergence of integrated delivery systems and providers of continuums of care--where the cost to replace the information technologies of acquired or partnered entities remains prohibitive--will cause the market for interface engines and other integration tools to continue expanding. Following are the perceptions of a few experts on the topic. They were asked to answer two questions: 1) What are the toughest challenges faced when integrating an integrated delivery system? and 2) What are the current best practices to solving this challenge?