INTEGRATION AND PERSON CENTRED CARE
Exploring the Dimensions of Integration
Applying the integration lens to our Paediatric Partnerships Program, Mother-Infant DBT Group Project and Living Well with Persistent Pain Program
Charged with the task of driving improvements to the local health system, we have continued to invest in integrated care models in order to better meet the health needs of our region and build a stronger local health system.
There are many dimensions to the implementation of integrated care – including the type, intensity and level of integration occurring. Across the year, through our commissioning and partnership activities, we have been enabling integration across these dimensions.
Explore some of our programs and services through this integration lens below:
Paediatric Partnership Project – an example of service integration
Service integration describes how service providers and organisations partner to deliver seamless care to meet the needs of an individual and/or communities.
Through our Paediatric Partnership Project, we have been working to reduce wait times for children needing an Autism Spectrum Disorder or Global Developmental Delay assessment.
As part of this project, we commissioned a private paediatric specialist practice to receive redirection of children on existing Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) and Autism SA wait lists. This private-public partnership is an example of service integration, assisting children to receive timelier diagnostic assessments during an important developmental period.
Mother-Infant DBT Group Project – an example of commissioning for outcomes and integration
Commissioning for outcomes and integration refers to how we provide an enabling platform for integrated care, using formal commissioning mechanisms including contracts, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and partnership agreements.
Through an MoU, we have brought together the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, the Department for Education and a mental health service provider to deliver Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to women living with Borderline Personality Disorder in the perinatal period.
This range of organisations each bring their own pieces to the puzzle, ranging from skilled workers to provide training and clinical supervision, the workforce to be trained and deliver the therapy, and access to the clients at safe, fit-for-purpose locations. With our organisation playing the role of commissioner for integration, this project has been able to meet the complex needs of a group of people in high need of care and support, which may not have otherwise been possible.
Living Well with Persistent Pain Program: an example of clinical integration
Clinical integration describes how care is coordinated around a person’s needs through clinician to clinician interactions.
In the Living Well with Persistent Pain Program, people are supported by a Care Coordinator (CC) to access a team of multi-disciplinary clinicians. This could include a GP with a special interest, physiotherapist, consultant pharmacist, mental health clinician, exercise physiologist, dietitian, or others.
The clinicians share information through a range of ways, with the CC acting as a central point to ensure people are on track with their self-identified goals. Case conferences are held with the care team to discuss progress and realign care options if required. To support clinical integration in this program, we directly fund the CC role, as well as providing reimbursement for the allied health providers to attend the case conferences.
