Implementing and Scaling up Integrated Care through Collaboration
Across the developed world, the majority of health and care systems are looking towards the integration of services within and across organisations to deliver efficiencies and enhance effectiveness and, by doing so, deliver service sustainability in an increasingly challenging environment, while a simple aspiration to articulate in reality the delivery of integrated care is proving challenging and in some cases elusive. In 2012, the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing's B3 Integrated Care Action Group carried out a high-level survey of 27 B3 Action Group members from regions and delivery organisations across Europe to determine their state of readiness for the delivery of integrated care services. This chapter highlights the common bottlenecks and barriers identified, before moving on to explore the key components that support the successful integration of services, including incentives/levers for change and technology-enabled service solutions.