IPCHS. Integrated People-Centred Health Services

Practices

Learn from real-life experiences with health services reform. We distinguish three types: emerging, promising and leading practices. Share your practice by clicking "Add practice".

March 2, 2017 Western Pacific

At Risk Individuals (ARI) programme, Counties Manukau Health (CMH) Auckland, New Zealand

The model of care provides early and planned interventions, establishes general practice as the centre of coordinated healthcare, provides care based on patient set goals and improves access to a range of specialist and community services; uses risk profiling as means to identify and judge patient eligibility; care goals are set and progress overseen by an assigned care coordinator; funded by flexible regime managed by the providers to ensure care goals can be achieved.

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Oct. 11, 2016 Europe

Strengthening primary care in Voznesensk, Ukraine

The district of Voznesensk experimented with initiatives, such as provider payment mechanisms, designed to align service delivery with the principles of family medicine, becoming an example for broader primary care reform across Ukraine; effective local leadership, combined with political and financial support, created a stable platform from which bottom-up reforms were built; aligning local initiatives with national priorities proved valuable for gaining legitimacy and support for the initiative; availability and capacity to collect and share data was fundamental for improving communication between health providers and increasing continuity of care. A district-wide electronic patient registration and medical records system was created ...

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Oct. 11, 2016 Europe

Strengthening disease prevention services in Albania

The government, which was strongly committed to establishing universal health coverage, launched a four-year Free Check-Up Programme to introduce free screening services for chronic conditions; adopting a proactive approach to prevention was essential for reaching and engaging the target population (all citizens aged between 40 to 65 years); significant efforts were made to improve the systematic collection and monitoring of population health data; government support for activities, and a key partnership with the Health Insurance Institution to reimburse health check-up services, helped embed the initiative into the health system.

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Oct. 4, 2016 Europe

Designing a national diabetes plan for Slovenia

The Ministry of Health convened a working group to develop a national diabetes strategy. After several years of deliberation among working-group members, the finalized National Diabetes Strategy was approved by the government in 2010; an active patient association supported patient engagement and involvement throughout the initiative’s planning and implementation process; meaningful stakeholder engagement across professions and institutions helped develop a common vision for the initiative; building trust between stakeholders took time, but was necessary to allow functional teamwork and effective plan development; oversight from the Ministry of Health fostered important linkages across activities, ensuring that changes to service delivery ...

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Sept. 22, 2016 Europe

Strengthening the response to noncommunicable disease in Turkmenistan

The government developed the National Health 2020 Action Plan 2014–2020 to guide action on noncommunicable disease; international attention on key issues helped generate national momentum and political will for health reform; a strong understanding of key challenges, supported with baseline population health data, facilitated the development of the Plan and allowed tailoring of activities to population needs; intersectoral partnerships across government ministries helped to keep the Plan on the political agenda and safeguarded health reforms against being undermined by other sectors’ policies; aligning with the existing primary care infrastructure facilitated the adoption of the Plan; a strong public communication ...

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Sept. 22, 2016 Europe

Integrating health and social care in Highland, Scotland

A lead organization model was introduced in Highland to promote greater integration between health care and social services. This new management structure united previously fragmented professional groups, serving to streamline service delivery and improve working relationships; broad political support for integrated care created a favourable environment for change; strong support from local senior management drove the initiative forward; extensive local engagement across all care levels ensured widespread buy-in for the initiative and reduced resistance to change across stakeholder groups; design and implementation of the initiative was iterative and not every detail was worked out prior to its launch; leaders stressed ...

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Sept. 7, 2016 Europe

Integrating delivery of TB services in primary care in Tajikistan

Following on from previous national efforts to address high TB incidence rates, the third National TB Programme 2010–2015 was approved by the government to systematically address service delivery gaps and continue to develop TB services in primary care; building on previous actions taken to reduce TB and learning from these experiences enabled a stronger approach moving forward; cross-ministry partnerships ensured united government support and greater stability for the initiative; partnerships between the government and international organizations provided an infusion of technical expertise and resources; adjusting resource allocation was used as a mechanism to drive organizational shifts in service delivery.

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Sept. 7, 2016 Europe

Developing a national cancer plan to coordinate the fight against cancer in Luxembourg

A national cancer plan was developed by the Ministry of Health to unite current services and coordinate the fight against cancer; ten priority areas for action were identified by the initiative: governance, health promotion, prevention, screening, diagnostics, treatment, rehabilitation, resources, patients’ rights and research; strong government commitment was essential for realizing a coordinated national approach; involving a diverse range of stakeholders from the beginning helped to guide the initiative; implementation of the national cancer plan is still in the early phases and any improvements will take time to observe.

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Sept. 6, 2016 Europe

Defining and standardizing primary care in Georgia

Government reforms aiming to establish universal health care, increase state involvement in the health system and strengthen regulation have been introduced; articulating a clear government vision ensured a strong foundation on which to build reforms; learning from previous experiences and seeking expertise from international partners helped the initiative avoid potential difficulties; inclusion of stakeholders in the design process helped build local consensus for change; following the strategy development process, detailed plans were drawn up to guide proposed reforms.

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Sept. 6, 2016 Europe

Shifting towards community-oriented mental health care in Belgium

Changes to legislation, policy and care guidelines at the national level guided mental health reform and government funding was made available to promote the implementation of local community mental health projects aligned with the new national vision for mental health; top-down support for bottom-up ideas ensured both the necessary resources and local ownership needed to optimize mental health reform; a supportive legislative framework helped solidify a common vision for mental health reform, providing a unified focus for local efforts to align with; space for experimentation in the delivery of mental health care was allowed for, motivating locally-adapted projects and sparking ...

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