Canada's health system policy-makers and providers spend a lot of time addressing two interrelated issues:  the quality of care for seniors with chronic conditions and the continued sustainability of Canada's publicly funded health care system.  These issues are related because those with chronic conditions are the most frequent users of health care services and inefficient use of resources in the treatment of chronic conditions contributes to higher health care spending.  Seniors, those over the age of 65, are much more likely to have chronic conditions than those younger than 65.

In the report Moving Toward Health Service Integration:  Provincial Progress in System Change for Seniors, Dr. Margaret MacAdam reviews the conceptual understandings underlying integrated care for seniors, examines models of cost-effective care, identifies their features and then ascertains to what extent Canadian provinces are implementing these features. 

Release Date: 14 May 2009
Number of pages: 52
Document number: 51302

Themes:

Health and Health Human Resources
Social Protection

Related Publications:

E-network: More Progress on Seniors Health Service Integration Needed
Research Report: Frameworks of Integrated Care for the Elderly: A Systematic Review