The current Covid-19 pandemic has thrown countries and societies into a crisis management situation, resulting in lockdowns and unprecedented high demand on health and public services. Here, Teresa Burdett, senior lecturer in integrated health care, unit lead for foundations of integrated care and person-centred services and unit lead for foundations of general practice nursing and Lee-Ann Fenge, professor of social care, both at Bournemouth University, look at integrated health and social care provision to improve existing care delivery methods and promote person-centred care.
Over the past five years, NHS commissioners have started to practise outcomes-based commissioning. Many of the new provider-led models of care heralded in the Five Year Forward View (NHS England, 2014) build on the concept of ‘accountable care organisations’ (ACOs). The ACO model is predicated on payment for outcomes.
While still in its infancy, our understanding of outcomes that matter most to people and families is growing — and those outcomes may be different to the clinical biomarkers we have traditionally measured.
Accounting for person-centred outcomes would fundamentally change conversations with patients and the focus of clinical practice, because we would worry less about the numbers and more about supporting people to live full, productive lives. Let’s imagine how that might work.
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