The new health agency is intended to provide seamless services so that patients are not required to register multiple times with the different county agencies to receive services. Currently, patients who need mental health services and medical services need to not only navigate two different appointment systems, payment systems, and health records, but also visit two different locations to receive those necessary services. By consolidating the health services, they can improve prevention and early intervention by closely linking them to clinical service. As Dr. Mitch Katz stated, “There is no great way for the departments to work together when they are independent of one another.” According to Kevin J. Woods (2001), mental and substance-use
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To achieve a fully integrated health system, integrated health systems should plan for, provide, and coordinate all core services for the population. As Suter et. al states, “the integrated health systems are intended to meet the patients’ needs rather than the providers’, and any organizations that don’t meet this key principle are unlikely to succeed.” (2009) Because of this, the system should be user-friendly, and easy for the participant to navigate and participate in. Participation from the public is an essential function to coordinated health care. Input from the patients, the ones who directly receive these services, will help the leaders gain support and determine areas of improvement and focus. Public and patient input would be ideal but is difficult for a large integrated system, and one author (Linenkugel 2001) recommended that smaller systems may have better chances. Geographic coverage is important to maximize patient access to the services and minimize duplication. Systems utilize rostering, the act of serving or being responsible for a specific population in a geographic area, to accomplish this. Though the providers are responsible for that population, patients have the right to seek services from other providers. This is often more effective for larger populations of at least 1,000,000, as some geographic areas may have smaller or dispersed
To achieve a fully integrated health system, integrated health systems should plan for, provide, and coordinate all core services for the population. As Suter et. al states, “the integrated health systems are intended to meet the patients’ needs rather than the providers’, and any organizations that don’t meet this key principle are unlikely to succeed.” (2009) Because of this, the system should be user-friendly, and easy for the participant to navigate and participate in. Participation from the public is an essential function to coordinated health care. Input from the patients, the ones who directly receive these services, will help the leaders gain support and determine areas of improvement and focus. Public and patient input would be ideal but is difficult for a large integrated system, and one author (Linenkugel 2001) recommended that smaller systems may have better chances. Geographic coverage is important to maximize patient access to the services and minimize duplication. Systems utilize rostering, the act of serving or being responsible for a specific population in a geographic area, to accomplish this. Though the providers are responsible for that population, patients have the right to seek services from other providers. This is often more effective for larger populations of at least 1,000,000, as some geographic areas may have smaller or dispersed