Integrated care in a Beveridge system: experiences from England and Denmark

Health systems internationally face demands to deliver care that is better coordinated and integrated. The health system financing and delivery model may go some, but not all the way in explaining health system fragmentation. In this paper, we consider the road to care integration in two countries with Beveridge style health systems, England and Denmark, that are both ranked as highly Integrated systems in Toth's health integration index. We use the SELFIE framework to compare the policies and reforms that have affected care integration over the past 30 years in the two countries. The countries both started their reform ...

Experiences of implementing the 'Making Every Contact Count' initiative into a UK integrated care system: an interview study

The 'Making Every Contact Count' (MECC) approach is in line with the current National Health Service (NHS) strategy to improve and prevent health conditions in England. Despite its importance and value for preventative healthcare, implementation of MECC varies. The aim of this study was to explore the barriers and facilitators of implementing MECC and MECC training into an integrated care system (ICS).

Co-design with Integrated Care Teams: Establishing Information Needs

Co-design has been cited as playing a major role in the future of effective integrated care, however, there is a lack of reporting and reflection on the methods used. Information sharing is fundamental when working in integrated care, however sharing across professions, service settings and localities can be complex. Through co-design, we seek to establish a shared understanding of information needs within a newly formed integrated care team. In doing so we aim to inform future practice in the understanding of co-design.

Collaborative Leadership in Integrated Care Systems; Creating Leadership for the Common Good

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for change, but such change can only happen through collaborative leadership which maintains a focus on relationships and purpose rather than solely on outputs or outcomes. This conceptual article explores how health and social care integration has been offered as one potential solution to the challenge of health and social care transformation. Specifically, Integrated Care Systems in England are intended to provide regional governance, to provide public services in a coherent and robust way. We explore this development in relation to three key aspects: the macro-level global policy context; the meso-level organizational behaviour ...

Health systems in crisis: Countering shockwaves and fatigue (Eurohealth)

This Eurohealth special issue provides a pre-reader for the 2023 European Health Forum Gastein, a key platform for health policy exchange, bringing together stakeholders and decision-makers from the public and private sector, civil society, and science and academia. The 2023 conference will facilitate discussion on how to ride out the current shockwaves and explore how crises can help catalyse the development of new approaches to health system problems.

Towards an equitable people-centred health system for Spain

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on Spain and its devastating effects on health and health care have been felt across various domains, including the social, economic, and political spheres. Among the sectors hardest hit were the health system and its dedicated health professionals. Consequently, there has been a growing recognition among the Spanish population that the health system, often regarded as an efficient and high-quality system, requires strengthening and modernisation.

Spain held its national elections on July 23, 2023, in a context of high polarisation of public opinion and absence of clear majorities of parties in the ...

Integrated care in action – primary care. Understanding how integrated care systems are redesigning primary care services

This case study shows how integrated care systems are redesigning primary care services.

Personalized Integrated Care Promoting Quality of Life for Older People: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) are the 2 most common neurodegenerative diseases affecting millions of people worldwide. The Personalized Integrated Care Promoting Quality of Life for Older People (PC4L) project proposes an integrated, scalable, and interactive care ecosystem that can be easily adapted to the needs of several neurodegenerative and chronic diseases, care institutions, and end user requirements.

Integrated care models in Swiss primary care: An embedded multiple case study

Healthcare systems are confronted with a rising number of patients with chronic conditions and complex care needs, requiring the development of new models of coordinated, patient-centred care. In this study, we aimed to describe and compare a range of new models of care recently implemented in primary care in Switzerland, as well as to gain insight into the type of coordination or integration implemented, the strengths and weaknesses of each model and the challenges they face.

How can Ireland mobilise social care community networks across the island to better support people to live healthily and ‘age in place’ throughout the life course?

Population aging is a phenomenon affecting almost every developed country worldwide and one that is increasingly prevalent in many of the globe’s most advanced economies such as Japan, USA and Europe. In seeking to address the impact of this issue, policy-makers are often heavil  focussed on the social and economic consequences of aging populations, such as a reduction in economic growth or increased pressures on public expenditure. However some have argued that policy should instead be more future-focussed, supporting states to build greater resilience to demographic changes and ensuring resources are redistributed to maintain wellbeing across the life course.