Integrated healthcare systems are considered part of the solutions to the challenge of sustaining healthcare systems in different parts of the world. As long as decision-makers and other players plan for and implement them perfectly, then patients and communities are certainly going to benefit significantly. After all, integrated healthcare results in higher overall patient satisfaction rates and improved access to services.
Fortunately, there are a few principles of successfully integrated health care systems that will ensure decision-makers have an easy ride with their integration efforts. And that’s precisely what this simple guide will help you uncover today. Read on to find out more!
Comprehensive Services across the Continuum of Care
One notable key principle of Integrated health care systems is the comprehensive scope of clinical and health-related services covered. Keep in mind these systems assume the responsibility to plan for, provide and coordinate all vital services along the continuum of health for community. This entails services from primary through tertiary care, not forgetting cooperation between health care social care organizations. However, the integration degree depends on factors such as the extent to which providers are assimilated into the large system.
Standardized Care Delivery through Inter-professional Teams
You may be wondering why this is even important in the first place. Well, standardized care offered by inter-professional teams help promote continuity of the care process. Remember, all professionals are viewed at as equal members. For this reason, professional autonomy is maintained and incentives are offered to meet performance and efficiency standards.
Even though inter-professional team approach is considered a basic tenet of integration, there are still numerous barriers to team collaboration. For instance, they might have to make do with professional self-interest, lack of role clarity, or even conflicting views about client interests and roles. This, in turn, negatively impacts the quality of the outcome.
The Bottom Line
These are just but some of the key principles for successful health systems integration. It always pays off to do your homework and determine what goes into the perfect integration to avoid leaving room for mistakes. While it can feel like a mammoth task at first, you can always get through it without the hassle as long as you understand what is expected.
Hopefully, this simple guide will come in handy the next time you want to handle successful health systems integration. So, what are you waiting for before you finally get going!