Integrated

Integrated care, also known as coordinated care, comprehensive care, seamless care, or transmural care, is a worldwide trend in health care reforms and new organizational arrangements focusing on more coordinated and integrated forms of care provision. Integrated care may be seen as a response to the fragmented delivery of health and social services being an acknowledged problem in many health systems.

Definition

Integrated care is a concept bringing together inputs, delivery, management, and organization of services related to diagnosis, treatment, care, rehabilitation, and health promotion. Integration is a means to improve services in relation to access, quality, user satisfaction, and efficiency.

Types of Integrated Care

There are three types of integrated care:

1. Functional integration: This involves the integration of back-office functions and activities such as human resources, finance, and information technology.
2. Organizational integration: This involves the integration of healthcare organizations to provide a continuum of care.
3. Clinical integration: This involves the integration of healthcare services to provide coordinated care for patients.

Benefits of Integrated Care

The benefits of integrated care include improved patient experience and improved health outcomes. It also reduces healthcare costs by eliminating unnecessary duplication of services and reducing hospital admissions.

Challenges of Integrated Care

The challenges of integrated care include the need for changes in the way healthcare is delivered, the need for a change in culture, and the need for a change in the way healthcare is financed.

See Also

• Healthcare reform
• Healthcare management
• Healthcare delivery

References

Integrated Resources
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