This report attempts to assess whether -- and to what degree - better care coordination can improve
health system performance in terms of quality and cost-efficiency. Coordination of care refers to policies
that help create patient-centred care that is more coherent both within and across care settings and over
time. Broadly speaking, it means making health-care systems more attentive to the needs of individual
patients and ensuring they get the appropriate care for acute episodes as well as care aimed at stabilising
their health over long periods in less costly environments. These issues are of particular interest to patients
with chronic conditions and the elderly who may find it difficult to "navigate" fragmented health-care
systems that are often found in OECD countries.
Interest in coordination of care issues is increasing
Growing interest in these issues has reflected a shift in the demands placed on health-care services.
Chronic conditions have become progressively more important and are absorbing a growing share of
health-care budgets. Since most of the chronically ill are elderly, this share can be expected to rise as
populations age over coming decades. At the same time, many reports suggest that the quality of care that
the chronically ill receive may need improvement. With these developments occurring in a context of tight
public finance, some countries have been attempting to improve both the quality of care provided to the
chronically ill and reduce cost pressures via changes to the architecture of health-care systems that
encourage greater care coordination...
