Enhanced health in care homes: learning from experiences so far

Enhanced health in care homes can be achieved by close co-ordination between care homes and the range of health services required to meet the needs of older people living in the care homes. When these services work closely together – for example, through regular GP visits to care homes and regular comprehensive assessments – they can actively promote good health rather than just reacting to ill health.

Integrated care: learning between high-income, and low- and middle-income country health systems

Integration is a challenging concept to define, in part because of its multiple dimensions and varied scope: from integrated clinical care for individual patients to broader systems integration- or linkage-involving wide range of interconnected services. This commentary compares integrated care in high-and lower- income countries. Although contexts may differ significantly between these settings, there are many common features of how integration has been understood and common challenges in its implementation

Making it Easier: A Health Literacy Action Plan for Scotland

Making it Easier- a health literacy plan for Scotland 2017-25, builds on the current learning about health literacy and aims to remove and prevent barriers. Health literacy is the degree to ehich individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropiate health decisions

The new guidance aims to improve design and delivery of services founded on the following themes: 

- equal access

- shared decision-making

- people supported to live and die well on their own terms with the health conditions they have

Better value primary care is needed now more than ever

Healthcare systems globally are fancing multiple challenges, with ageing populations, increasing chronic disease, rising multiborbidity, and innovative treatments and technologies all leading to rising costs. With finite resources, and an increasing recognition of the potential harms to patients of overdiagnosis and overtreatment, it is essential that resources are used optimally. This article explore how the value based healthcare framework can help decisions about how to allocate resources, and the importance of good evidence not only for patient treatment but the organisation of health services. 

Urban-rural difference in satisfaction with primary healthcare services in Ghana

Understanding regional variation in patient satisfaction about healthcare systems (PHCs) on the quality of services provided is instrumental to improving quality and developing a patient-centered healthcare system by making it  more responsive especially to the cultural aspects of health demands of a population. Reaching to the innovative National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana, surpassing several reforms in healthcare financing has been a milestone. However little research has been conducted concerning patient satisfaction in resource-poor settings like in Ghana. This study was therefore dedicated to examining the variation in satisfaction across rural and urban women in Ghana. 

Derivation and validation of the Personal Support Algorithm: an evidence-based framework to inform allocation of personal support services in home and community care

Personal support services enable many individuals to stay in their homes, but there are no standard ways to classify need for functional support in home and community care settings. The goal of this proyect was to develop and evidence-based clinical tool to inform service planning while allowing for flexibility in care coordinator judgment in response to patient and family circumstances. 

Project INTEGRATE: Lessons for Policy, Management and Implementation of Integrated Care in Europe

Project INTEGRATE aims to gain valuable insights into the leadership, management and delivery of integrated care to support European care systems to respond to the challenges of ageing populations and the rise of people living with long-term chronic conditions.

This project has already examined four case studies of best practices of integrated care in Europe, in the areas of COPD, Mental Health, Geriatric Conditions and Diabetes, that have had a proven impact in terms of improving patient experiences, generating better care outcomes and providing cost-effectiveness. The key aim of this part of the research was to define what constitutes good ...

Community Care for People with Complex Care Needs: Bridging the Gap between Health and Social Care

Introduction: A growing number of people are living with complex care needs characterized by multimorbidity, mental health challenges and social deprivation. Required is the integration of health and social care, beyond traditional health care services to address social determinants. This study investigates key care components to support complex patients and their families in the community.

Methods: Expert panel focus groups with 24 care providers, working in health and social care sectors across Toronto, Ontario, Canada were conducted. Patient vignettes illustrating significant health and social care needs were presented to participants. The vignettes prompted discussions on i) how best to meet ...

Using Information Communication Technology in Models of Integrated Community-Based Primary Health Care: Exploring ICT in the iCOACH Study

Information and communication technology (ICT) is a promising enabler to support delivery of integrated care by inter-disciplinary teams by supporting information sharing across professional and  organizational boundaries; arguably a crucial aspect of successful models of integrated care

Can chronic disease be managed through integrated care cost-effectively? Evidence from a systematic review.

The increase in demand for integrated care models to manage chronic disease is a challenge for the Irish health system, which is traditionally organised around the acute hospital services. Implementing integrated care programmes requires significant investment, and thus, their economic impact requires consideration.

AIMS:This paper updates the previous evidence on the cost-effectiveness of integrated care programmes to support the development of a cost-effective integrated care programme for chronic disease management.

METHODS: A systematic review of economic evaluations of integrated care programmes for chronic diseases (respiratory, cardiovascular, diabetes and musculoskeletal diseases) was performed using methods guided by the principles of ...