What is integrated care?
for example in improving access to care, managing demand and reducing delayed
transfers (Ham and de Silva, 2009). However, empirical research on the impact
of integrated health systems in respect of clinical outcomes and value for money
remains scarce (Armitage and others, 2009), with integration that is largely focused
on bringing organisations together unlikely to bring about improvements in care for
patients (Alakeson, forthcoming). Although there is some limited evidence that service
integration improves clinical outcomes, the impact on costs is more mixed (Ham and
de Silva, 2009; Ovretveit and others, 2010).
Current policy provides opportunities to extend integrated care, working towards
an NHS that is `less insular and fragmented' and facilitating working across health
and social care boundaries, as well as between hospitals and practices (Department
of Health, 2010).
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