Abstract
Problem and Aim: Like many regions around the world, local health systems in New South Wales, including the Ministry of Health, Local Health Districts Primary Health Networks and social and community partners, have implemented integrated care initiatives to bridge gaps in health, social and community services and deliver person-centred connected care. Over the past 25 years, these initiatives have involved a wide range of goals, locations, funding models, target cohorts, interventions, system reforms, stakeholders, technologies and underlying mechanisms of change.
This multiplicity and variation in integrated care initiatives, some of which are well documented, others which have had limited timespans and evaluation; presents a challenge for understanding how integrated care has progressed in terms of achieving outcomes and evolved in terms of policy development. In this workshop, we aim to develop the basis for a framework for understanding how the journey of integrated are in New South Wales can be better documented, evaluated and understood for further strategic policy learning. We address the questions: How have the goals and strategies of integrated care initiatives changed over time? How have successes of previous integrated care initiatives enabled expansion, focussing and improvement of new programs? What are the key features of integrated care programs that should be monitored to demonstrate progression and improvement?
Attendees: This workshop is designed for policy and decision-makers, health and social care managers and researchers either currently or historically involved in designing, implementing, evaluating and scaling-up integrated care initiatives; as well as those with an interest in broader integrated care policy development in New South Wales and beyond.
Workshop structure and method: Following an overview of integrated care in New South Wales, four short case studies of integrated care initiatives will be presented representing an evolution of approaches; including chronic disease management, local integrated care programs, place-based health and social care initiatives and collaborative commissioning.
Workshop participants will then participate in structured discussion around key features of integrated care in New South Wales and how hallmarks of these can be applied in a framework to understand the story of integrated care in New South Wales.