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

The Implementation of Integrated Health Information Systems – Research Studies from 7 Countries Involving the InterRAI Assessment System

In the past years, governments from several countries have shown interest in implementing integrated health information systems. The interRAI Suite of instruments fits this concept, as it is a set of standardised, evidence-based assessments, which have been validated for different care settings. The system allows the electronic transfer of information across care settings, enabling integration of care and providing support for care planning and quality monitoring. The main purpose of this research is to describe the recent implementation process of the interRAI instruments in seven countries: Belgium, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Finland and New Zealand.

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.

Integrated Care in Switzerland: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Federal System

Switzerland’s fragmented healthcare system mirrors its federal structure and mix of cultures and languages. Although the Swiss have a higher life expectancy than most of their neighbours, their healthcare system faces similar challenges that call for more integrated care (IC). This article aims to provide insight into the specificities of and latest developments in Switzerland’s healthcare system and how they may have influenced the development and implementation of IC there.

Perspectives of people with Parkinson's disease and family carers about disease management in community settings: A cross-country qualitative study

The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of people with Parkinson's disease and family carers about the use and impact of health and social care services, community and voluntary sector resources for the management of Parkinson's disease. Resources from outside the formal health care system and collaborations between different levels and sectors could address the unmet needs of people with Parkinson's disease and their family carers and improve the management of Parkinson's disease in the community setting. An integrated and person-and-community-centred approach, which includes the participation of the health, social, voluntary and community sectors ...

Promoting Integrated Care Across the World

Knowledge management in a regional integrated health and social care system

This article analyses a major healthcare and social welfare reform establishing new regional and integrated wellbeing services counties in Finland. The authors approach the reform and service integration as a knowledge management (KM) issue and analyse how KM appears and contributes in the context of integrated care, specifically in the process of integrating social and health care.

How can skill-mix innovations support the implementation of integrated care for people with chronic conditions and multimorbidity?

• The increasing and changing demands of complex patients (with chronic conditions and multimorbidity), combined with growing workloads and shortages of primary care providers, demand the reorganization of services for more patient-centred and more efficient care.
• Reorganizing health and social care services to integrate care requires that the health workforce adopt “skill-mix changes” including reskilling; a different approach to sharing tasks and roles; and improved coordination.
• Skill mix changes typically involve innovative re-allocation of tasks between professions; new supplementary roles; and/or the introduction of greater teamworking and flexibility.
• The most promising skill-mix innovations for improving integration of care of patients ...

Integrated brief interventions for noncommunicable disease risk factors in primary care: the manual: BRIEF project

Brief interventions are recognized by WHO as an effective measure to help people quit tobacco, reduce or stop alcohol use and increase physical activity. They can also help to achieve and maintain healthy eating behaviours and manage weight for those living with overweight and obesity. Brief interventions can translate to significant health benefits at population level when systematically applied to a large proportion of people. The uptake of these interventions in the WHO European Region, however, remains low. This manual is an integral part of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases BRIEF project. The ...

Priorities in integrating primary and secondary care: a multimethod study of GPs

Throughout the world, healthcare policy has committed to delivering integrated models of care. The interface between primary–secondary care has been identified as a particularly challenging area in this regard. To that end, this study aimed to examine the issue of integrated care from general practitioners’ (GPs) perspectives in Ireland.