EDITORIAL

Happy together

8/12/2013

ProMedica and Cleveland Clinic have a new business “alliance.” It is neither a merger nor an acquisition, but a cooperative agreement that both Ohio health systems say will be good for them and their patients.

Their memorandum of understanding does not change the ownership or independence of either institution. A committee of representatives of both institutions will decide how doctors and facilities will share medical records and collaborate in such areas as technology and purchasing.

Corporate commingling in health care is likely to increase, academic experts and participants say. A concern is that patients will be lost in ever-larger bureaucratic mazes, where they can feel helpless and accountability is slight.

The upside is that the care provided by Cleveland Clinic is as good it gets, anywhere in the world. The alliance should be good for Toledo health-care consumers and for the city overall.

It isn’t clear what impact, if any, the new alliance will have on women’s health and reproductive choices in Toledo. With a Cleveland Clinic presence here, perhaps women will not have to travel to Cleveland to meet these needs. At the moment, their options are narrowing.

Cleveland Clinic has been helpful to neighborhoods in its home city. That might provide a model for ProMedica to reach out anew to its neighbors and small businesses in Toledo.