April 26, 2016 Global

Can service integration work for universal health coverage? Evidence from around the globe

Universal health coverage (UHC) is at the heart of the new 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment. Health service integration is seen by World Health Organization as an essen-tial requirement to achieve UHC. However, to date the debate on service integration hasfocused on perceived benefits rather than empirical impact. We conducted a global reviewin a systematic manner searching for empirical outcomes of service integration experimentsin UHC countries and those on the path to UHC. Sixty-seven articles and reports were found.We grouped results into a unique integration typology with six categories – medical stafffrom different disciplines; patients and medical staff; care package for ...

Read more

April 24, 2016 Europe

Person-centred care in Europe: a cross-country comparison of health system performance, strategies and structures

In February 2016, the international charity Picker Institute Europe published a policy briefing titled “Person-centred care in Europe: a cross-country comparison of health system performance, strategies and structures”. The document provides an overview of policy and practice relating to person-centred care in England, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. The briefing focuses on both quality and efficiency of care and highlights recent innovations and adaptations driven by the rise of noncommunicable diseases and financial challenges. For example, in the Netherlands, models of care have shifted towards both prevention and an increased usage of primary care for handling patients with chronic ...

Read more

April 21, 2016 Global

Integrated care – taking specialist medical care beyond the hospital walls

The Royal College of Physicians has published in 2016 a document titled “Integrated care -  taking specialist medical care beyond the hospital walls”.

In the first part of this document they are described some of the main topics about integrated care, how it is conceptualize and what it really implies for patients, professionals and for the whole system.

Afterwards, some study cases are shown as examples to go deeper into different dimensions of integrated care such as the need for sustainable models of integrated care, leadership, management and governance or self-management and care.

Finally, the document lists five key areas where ...

Read more

April 20, 2016 Europe

National Framework for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care

This Framework (reviewed) is intended to provide guidance for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) when assessing the needs of children and young people whose complex needs cannot be met by universal or specialist health services. CCGs have a legal responsibility for securing to a reasonable extent the health care which an individual needs, and this guidance is about the process which should be followed for the equitable discharge of that responsibility for children and young people with complex needs. This revision takes account of the new structures of NHS commissioning created by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the ...

Read more

April 20, 2016 Europe

Inclusion Health: Education and Training for Health Professionals: END of STUDY REPORT

The concept of Inclusion Health is founded on the premise that not all UK citizens have access to the highest standards of healthcare. Meeting the health needs of a small group of socially excluded individuals and their communities remains a challenge. This population has poorer predicted health outcomes and a shorter life expectancy than the average population. The National Inclusion Health programme for England was launched in March 2010 as a cross-government programme led by the Department of Health. It provides a framework for driving improvements in health outcomes for socially excluded groups. The rationale for setting up this framework ...

Read more

April 17, 2016 Americas

The Patient-Centered Medical Home’s Impact on Cost and Quality: Annual Review of Evidence, 2014-15

The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a model of primary care that is patient-centred, comprehensive, coordinated, accessible and committed to quality and safety. In the PCMH, the primary care team coordinates care for patients and guides them in their journeys across the health care system.  In February 2016, the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, a not-for-profit membership organization, published a review titled "The Patient-Centered Medical Home's Impact on Cost and Quality", which provides a summary of PCMH cost and utilisation outcomes in the United States. The review includes peer-reviewed studies, state government evaluations, industry reports and independent federal program evaluations ...

Read more

April 4, 2016 Europe

Age UK’s Personalised Integrated Care Programme: where are we now?

Age UK launched its personalised integrated care programme in 2012 in Cornwall. In this post, published in its blog, some data about its evaluation are shown and discussed.

The main objectives of this programme are to improve health and wellbeing of older people by tailoring services to meet their needs, improve the experience and quality of care received, and to reduce unplanned hospital admissions amongst older people with multiple long-term conditions.

The evaluation showed a 31% reduction in all hospital admissions, a 26% reduction in emergency ones, and a 20% improvement in older people’s health and wellbeing. In addition ...

Read more

April 4, 2016 Global

The MDG To SDG Transition: the role of hospitals and integrated primary care.

In 2016, the world will be moving from the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Regarding health-related goals, most of the funding in recent years has been focusing on disease-specific programmes and strengthening primary care; nevertheless, public health, health promotion, prevention, and controlling risk factors through a broad range of policy interventions, both within and outside the health sector, must be an important focus in the era of SDGs.

In this post, integrated health services are seen as a main factor to achieve the health-related topics in the SDGs. The author defends not only strong primary ...

Read more

March 18, 2016 Africa Europe Western Pacific Global

Barriers and enablers to integrating maternal and child health services to antenatal care in low and middle income countries

For most women in low and middle income countries (LMIC), antenatal care (ANC) plays a highly important dual role: not only does ANC provide effective interventions to reduce the risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth, it can also serve as a delivery platform for other health services. Particularly in settings where the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), tuberculosis (TB) and malaria is high, integrating services for these conditions with ANC can significantly expand their reach. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified integration of ANC with other health programmes as a key strategy for reducing missed ...

Read more

March 18, 2016 Americas Global

Achieving Effective Universal Health Coverage And Diagonal Approaches To Care For Chronic Illnesses

Health systems in low- and middle-income countries were designed to provide episodic care for acute conditions. However, the burden of disease has shifted to be overwhelmingly dominated by chronic conditions and illnesses that require health systems to function in an integrated manner across a spectrum of disease stages from prevention to palliation. Low- and middle-income countries are also aiming to ensure health care access for all through universal health coverage. This article proposes a framework of effective universal health coverage intended to meet the challenge of chronic illnesses. It outlines strategies to strengthen health systems through a “diagonal approach.” We ...

Read more