The International Foundation for Integrated Care Newsletter. An update on projects, events and publications relating to the research, development and implementation of integrated care.

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Integrated care in the Netherlands suffers from pilotitis: too many pilots says Guus Schrijvers, IFIC Chair

Three hundred and ninety three municipalities, 120 GP cooperatives, 31 financial agencies for long term care (FALTC’s), nine experimental gardens and nine social health insurance concerns in the Netherlands are experimenting with new delivery systems for chronic care. All these, in total, 562 agencies, aim at integrating services, emphasise prevention and health promotion, care provision near to the patient, a holistic approach and working outside of hospitals. Both inside and outside of the Netherlands, experts (I myself included) see these 562 pilots as a symptom of pilotitis: too many pilots. The Netherlands do not have a chronic care policy, which would implement the best pilots nation-wide. Instead, the Netherlands seem to operate according to a particular piece of wisdom from Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book: let thousand, or in this case 562, flowers flourish. Continue reading .....

Focus on the individual - Ljubisav Matejevic explains IBM's approach to integrated care

I am thrilled to be supporting IBM Smarter Care at the 15th International Conference for Integrated Care (ICIC15) for what is going to be another stimulating event. For those that are not familiar, Smarter Care is IBM’s perspective on integrated care. We feel that the individual – citizen, patient, person receiving care – needs to be at the center of the discussion. Only by focusing on the individual, can organizations achieve improved outcomes that are financially sustainable. Continue reading .....

Launch of the WHO global strategy on people-centred and integrated health services

Despite remarkable improvements in health outcomes and the strengthening of health programmes in recent years, challenges being faced by health systems, especially in areas of the world where chronic disease burden is high and resources are limited, call for a fundamental paradigm shift in the way the services are funded, managed and delivered.

To address these challenges, the World Health Organization has a new global strategy on people-centred and integrated health services that builds on the lessons learned in recent decades and offers a way forward for comprehensive health system design. Continue reading .....

If you would like to submit news for our newsletter or find our more about our work including our conferences and events please contact our Director of Communications, Fiona Lyne

Project

Activation of Stratification Strategies and Results of the interventions on frail patients of Healthcare Services (ASSEHS) European project is an international effort to bring together Health Services, Academia and Research professionals from European countries to study current existing health risk stratification strategies and tools and the challenges to spread their use on frail elderly patients. If you want to learn more about Assehs, visit its official website www.assehs.eu

Upcoming Events

The 15th International Conference on Integrated Care (ICIC15) will take place in Edinburgh 25-27 March. You can still book your place or if you can't make it, you can still hear the main messages by following @IFICinfo #ICIC15 #integratedcare

The WPA 2015 Bucharest International Congress on Primary Care Mental Health: Innovation and Transdisciplinarity will take place from 24-27 June, 2015 at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania.

The European Telemedicine Conference (ETC) 2015 will take place in Nyborg, Denmark, 20 - 21 October 2015. The conference will collaborate with prominent healthcare delivery organisations, governmental leaders, clinicians, researchers and university faculties to address and discuss the latest innovations in telemedicine.

The Digital Health Conference and Exhibition 2015 "Transforming Healthcare Service Delivery - Harnessing Technology for Patient Benefit" will take place at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK on 7 July 2015.

From 10th to 12th of May 2015 the Portuguese Order of Nurses (Ordem dos Enfermeiros) will host its 4th Congress «Leading in Health, Building Alternatives» at Lisbon Congress Centre. Organisation welcomes all health professionals to be part of this event. For more information go to IV Congress or send us an email.

Publications

Population health systems: going beyond integrated care was published by The King's Fund on 23 February. This paper aims to challenge those involved in integrated care and public health to ‘join up the dots’, seeing integrated care as part of a broader shift away from fragmentation towards an approach focused on improving population health.

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