The Path To Integration Depends On Where You Sit

“Integration” is a loaded word in the health and human service field. And the implications are dependent on where you sit. For payers and health plans, integration means a “whole person” approach to care coordination. The “ideal” model has medical, behavioral, and social needs addressed together in a system that has seamless consumer services, integrated data at the consumer level, and alignment of financial incentives. From the provider organization perspective, the question is to determine, even if your organization can’t be the entire solution, how to create (through new capability development, mergers, or collaboration) a system with these characteristics . . .