This book is designed to help health care executives prepare for the current and future challenges of ambulatory care planning, development, and management. It thoroughly examines the trAnds in financing, technology, and consumer demands that are fueling the ambulatory care revolution. The role of ambulatory care in integrated delivery systems is explored with practical strategies for taking advantage of the restructuring health care delivery system. Also included are five case studies that highlight the ambulatory care successes and struggles of a varied group of providers: a suburban health system, a regionally oriented rural health system, an urban health system and its physicians, an academic medical center, and a for-profit ambulatory care provider.