APA Dictionary of Psychology

a health care provider organization that is completely integrated operationally and clinically and that offers a full range of health care services, including physician, hospital, and adjunct services. IDSs began to develop in the early 1980s and multiplied rapidly in the 1990s. They are found in varying formats, one of the more typical being an alliance between hospitals and individual physicians or group medical practices. An IDS is a managed care organization.