This week’s topic:
Integration of Care: Departments & Care
Integrated health services may be defined as health services managed and delivered so people receive a continuum of health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, disease-management, rehabilitation and palliative care services, coordinated across the different levels and sites of care within and beyond the health sector, and according to their needs throughout the life course. There is interconnectedness among organizational departments and processes which directly influence patient and business outcomes and success. Organizational structure determines decision-making authority although decision-making authority may not always have a singular aspect but could warrant interdepartmental oversight.
There are guiding principles which underpin collaborative approaches to integration. Principles include collaborative leadership, effective decision-making, building on success, person-centric approach, preventative management, and achieving best value. These principles are designed to deliver better health and wellbeing through effective, streamlined and coordinated care whether the organizational setting is national, regional, system, or local.
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze the interconnection among departments within an organization.
- Assess the subordination in decision-making roles depending on the organization type and range.
Apply principles of care integration to various types of managed care and alternatives.
Task:
Post an open-ended question you have related to this week’s topic and/or assignment. Your question is intended to seek your professor’s input and guidance. The question should be inviting as well as detailed and specific enough to target only one aspect of this week’s topic/assignment.
