Degree Of Integration Between Health And Social Care

1135 Words3 Pages

A health system, as characterized by WHO, consists of all organizations, people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health. This includes efforts to influence determinants of health as well as more direct health-improving activities. A health system is therefore more than the pyramid of publicly owned facilities that deliver personal health services. It includes, for example, a mother caring for a sick child at home; private providers; behavior change programs; vector-control campaigns; health insurance organizations; occupational health and safety legislation. It includes inter-sectoral action by health staff to meet the health needs of target populations. WHO identified six building blocks for a health system: …show more content…

Integrated health systems assume the responsibility to plan for, provide, purchase, and coordinate all core services along the continuum of health for the population served (Leatt et al. 2000; Marriott and Mable 1998, 2000). This includes services from primary through tertiary care as well as cooperation between health and social care organizations (Simoens and Scott …show more content…

2005). The greater the similarities between the providers’ goals, values, vision, and mission and those of the system are, the greater the degree of integration. While mission states the reason an organization currently exists to achieve and vision articulates where an organization aspires to be, the purpose of stating the core values is to help define the type of organization one strives to be. Core values can best be described as operating philosophies or principles that guide an organization’s internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world. They represent the “how” alongside the “what” and the “where” of your mission and vision statements. (JISCinfonet 2015) II. Patient Focus The justification for integrated delivery systems is to meet patients’ needs rather than providers (Rogers and Sheaff), ensuring the patient receives the “right care at the right place at the right time” (Shortell et al. 2000: 36). Integrated health systems should be easy for patients to navigate (Linenkugel 2001). They should involve and be representative of the communities they serve (Marriott and Mable 1998). Patient engagement and participation is imperative, and consumers should have the opportunities for input on various levels (Hunter 1999; Wilson et al.

Open Document