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Integrated care

What is integrated care?

Integrated care refers to the association of multiple treatment paradigms to produce a single unified program. The idea is to deliver seamless care to the patient to ensure high treatment continuity and improve patient satisfaction. Integrated programs typically involve multi-element psychosocial therapies for mental illness. For example, integrated psychological therapy may involve a combination of cognitive training, social skills training, problem-solving training and cognitive remediation. Integrated care can also refer to the formal liaison of typically distinct services such as medical practitioners and dedicated mental health teams, or the incorporation of mental health and substance use treatments into a single program.

What is the evidence for integrated care?

Moderate to high quality evidence suggests there a small, reduced risk of hospitalisation with collaborative care. There were no significant effects on relapse rates, depression or anxiety post-treatment. Low quality evidence is unable to determine the longer-term effects on symptoms or for physical health or functioning.

November 2021

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Last updated at: 2:13 pm, 15th February 2022
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