A hospital network is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

for-profit Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessari ...

company or organization that provides two or more

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s and other broad healthcare facilities and services. A hospital network may include hospitals in one or more regions within one or more states within one or more countries. A hospital network has one headquarter, usually within one of the regions served by the network facilities. (The terms hospital system and health care system are used more broadly to define the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of a region or country.)

History

Some of the earliest hospital networks were affiliated with charitable, religious organizations. The Catholic Church established a hospital network in medieval Europe that was vastly improved from the merely reciprocal hospitality of the Greeks and family-based obligations of the Romans. These hospitals were established to cater to "particular social groups marginalized by poverty, sickness, and age," according to historian of hospitals, Guenter Risse. In the late 20th century hospital networks were established to make delivery of healthcare more efficient and to share specialized medical services and physicians across the network. To avoid financial losses due to shrinking reimbursements and rising costs as well as improving quality of care and avoid duplication of services, hospitals may consolidate certain services at one hospital. However, patients may need to travel farther if those services are no longer offered at their local hospital.

Largest hospital networks

Hospital networks that do not have reliable sources may not be included; these are not necessarily complete lists.

Ranked by capacity

This is a list of hospital networks with a capacity of more than 2,500 beds.

Ranked by staff

This is a list of hospital networks with at least 20,000 staff.

By country

United States

The largest hospital networks headquartered in the United States are included in the table below. The name, headquarters location, number of hospitals, funding type and founding year are given for each network. As of 2023, there were 6,129 hospitals in the United States. Notes:

Canadian headquartered hospital networks

* Alberta Health Services, Province of Alberta, 106 hospitals * Scarborough Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, 3 hospitals * Sinai Health System,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, 2 hospitals * The Ottawa Hospital,

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, 3 hospitals * Toronto East Health Network * Trillium Health Partners, Toronto, Ontario, 3 hospitals * Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, 3 hospitals * University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, 4 hospitals * William Osler Health System, Brampton, Ontario, 2 hospitals * Grey Bruce Health Services, Grey County, Ontario and Bruce County, Ontario, 6 hospitals * Halton Healthcare,

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

, 3 hospitals * London Health Sciences Centre,

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, 2 hospitals * McGill University Health Centre,

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, 7 hospitals

Irish headquartered hospital networks

A new grouping of hospitals was announced by the Irish Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly TD in May 2013, as part of a restructure of Irish public hospitals and a goal of delivering better patient care: *Dublin North East (subsequently renamed RCSI Hospitals) *Dublin Midlands (subsequently renamed Dublin Midlands Hospital Group) *Dublin East (subsequently renamed Ireland East Hospital Group) *South/South West (subsequently renamed South/Southwest Hospital Group) *West/North West (subsequently renamed Saolta University Health Care Group) *Mid West (subsequently renamed UL Hospitals Group)

United Kingdom

National Health Service (England) The National Health Service (NHS) is the Publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare system in England, and one of the four National Health Service systems in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest single-payer healthcare sy ...

* NHS Scotland *

NHS Wales NHS Wales () is the publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service () in the United Kingdom. NHS Wales was formed as part of the public health system for England and Wales crea ...

* Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland

Other

* Aga Khan Health Services, HQ in France * Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France; 44 hospitals * Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Taiwan, 8 hospitals * Hirslanden Private Hospital Group, Switzerland, 17 hospitals

References

{{Hospital articles, state=expanded Hospitals