A core objective of IFIC Australia is to help support the effective implementation of integrated care in policy and practice. The IFIC Australia initiative reflects the growing focus at State and Federal level on person-centred integrated care as a means to promote better value in the way health and care services are delivered. In August 2017, for example, the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission produced a report advocating for such an approach. In so doing, it raised a number of critical implementation challenges including: the lack of a truly person-centred model of care; the ability to stimulate innovation and change; the need for new incentives to support whole-system thinking; the reform to existing financial flows; and focusing in on integrated care as a means to promote quality, including investment in prevention and digital health.
Over the next year, IFIC is inviting commentaries on How to Take Integrated Care Forward in Australia from a range of different perspectives.