Framework on integrated, people-centred health services

This Framework proposes five interdependent strategies for health services to become more integrated and people-centred. It calls for reforms to reorient health services, putting individuals, families, carers and communities at their centre, supported by responsive services that better meet their needs and respect their preferences, and that are coordinated both within and beyond the health sector, irrespective of country setting or development status. These reforms also incorporate a human rights approach, enshrining access to health care as a basic right, without distinction of ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, political belief, and economic or social condition.

This document builds on the interim WHO Strategy on people-centred and integrated health services, published by the WHO in March 2015. It  incorporates the comments and suggestions gathered through a broad stakeholder consultation process: a web based-public consultation open to individuals and organizations (closed October 2015) and regional and Member State consultations (ongoing). The Framework ...

WHO global strategy on people-centred and integrated health services

This interim report, the WHO global strategy on people-centred and integrated health services, presents a compelling case for a people-centred and integrated health services approach, along with a look at the way forward. It is accompanied by the document "People-centred and integrated health services: an overview of the evidence".

European Observatory Venice Summer school 2016: "Primary care: innovating for integrated, more effective care"

The Observatory Venice Summer School 2016 is a one week intensive course aimed at senior and mid level policy makers, civil servants and professionals steering primary care services and those looking at strengthening care, its continuity and integrative functions within and beyond the health system.

Progress and outcomes of health systems reform in the United Arab Emirates: a systematic review

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government aspires to build a world class health system to improve the quality of healthcare and the health outcomes for its population. To achieve this it has implemented extensive health system reforms in the past 10 years. The nature, extent and success of these reforms has not recently been comprehensively reviewed. This paper reviews the progress and outcomes of healht systems reform in the UAE

Thinking outside the system: the integrated care experience in Queensland, Australia

Health policy-makers are faced with a demand for health care that exceeds supply, driven in part by an ageing population and an increased prevalence of chronic disease. An integrated ‘people-centred’ model of care across primary, secondary and tertiary health care can strengthen the health system by streamlining services to improve the patient journey and outcomes.

Integrated care pilots in England revisited

The purpose of this paper is to explore the outcomes identified by the evaluation of the national programme of integrated care pilots (ICPs) in England in the context of wider policies designed to deliver integrated care and to consider the challenges presented to policy makers and evaluators in distilling usable insights to promote effective policy.

Also, this paper considers why evaluation findings appear limited in their impact on policy in the field of integrated care. Views as to how evaluation might be undertaken so that it generates actionable insights are advanced.

A proposal to reform general practice and enable digital healthcare at scale

General practice has always been the foundation and gateway to the NHS. However the problems are mounting up: a stretched and increasingly burnt-out workforce, no systematic reporting or analysis of activity and demand, fragmentation with secondary care, and confusing and dated contracting and reimbursement mechanisms. The status quo is increasingly unacceptable to both patients and GPs. There is now a consensus that changes are needed, including to the small-scale independent contractor model, to ensure that primary care can thrive in the future.

Policy Exchange has set out a pragmatic proposal for reform. Addressing issues around integration, workforce, digital transformation and scaled provision, we argue that a new model of general practice is required to better meet the needs of patients and the taxpayer – so it feels increasingly at their service.

Health and Social Care Reform in Scotland – What Next?

This paper analyses the important enablers, barriers and impacts of country-wide implementation of integrated health and social care in Scotland. It offers insights for other systems seeking to advance similar policy and practice. Landmark legislation was based on a shared vision and narrative about improving outcomes for people and communities. Implementation has involved coordination of multiple policies and interventions for different life stages, care groups, care settings and local context within a dynamic and complex system.

Understanding integrated care through patient journeys

In recent years, considerable investment has been made towards healthcare service redesign and reform in response to an increasingly diverse and ageing patient population. The shift towards person-centred care requires holistic care management approaches and has prompted health services to consider changing the ways they deliver care

Progressing primary health care: a series of country case studies

The 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata (1) was revolutionary. Many countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other organizations had been pursuing strategies to provide primary health care (PHC) for years (2). However, Alma-Ata made PHC central to health care policy and practice. In a world in which resources had long been focused on “vertical” health programmes, expanding the focus of health care was a novel approach for the global health community. Since this declaration, efforts to improve health have increasingly been framed in terms of building, strengthening or realigning the systems that contribute to a more expansive notion of health for the entire population.

In 2018, in support of the Global Conference on Primary Health Care and the Declaration of Astana, WHO commissioned a series of case studies on various countries that have delivered PHC reforms over the past four decades. These case ...