Integrated Care: A Person-Centered and Population Health Strategy for the COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery and Beyond

• Published in: International journal of integrated care Vol. 23; no. 4; p. 16
• Main Authors: Odutayo, Ayodele, Smith, Kevin, Gosse, Carolyn, Chang, Melissa, Isaacksz, Shiran, Chan, Christopher T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Ubiquity Press 11.12.2023
• Subjects: Caregivers; Chronic illnesses; Clinics; Community support; Complex patients; COVID-19; Disease prevention; Education; Health care networks; Health care policy; hospital re-admission; Hospitals; Information sharing; Infrastructure; integrated care; Integrated delivery systems; Internal medicine; Medicine; Nursing; Oncology; Pandemics; Patient-centered care; Pneumonia; Primary care; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Ontario Canada; Canada; COVID-19; integrated care; hospital re-admission
• ISSN: 1568-4156; 1568-4156
• DOI: 10.5334/ijic.7536

The COVID-19 pandemic has mandated a re-imagination of how healthcare is administered and delivered, with a view towards focusing on person-centred care and advancing population health while increasing capacity, access and equity in the healthcare system. These goals can be achieved through healthcare integration. In 2019, the University Health Network (UHN), a consortium of four quaternary care hospitals in Ontario, Canada, established the first stage of a pilot program to increase healthcare integration at the institutional level and vertically with other primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the Ontario healthcare system. Implementation of the program was accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrated how healthcare integration improves person-centred care and population health; therefore serving as the foundation for a health system response for the COVID-19 pandemic recovery and beyond.