ABSTRACT
Developing multiprofessional care and services is an essential step towards an integrated health and social care system. A developing programme for elderly care recommended by the Government is one of the measures to reach the goal. Municipalities can provide health and social care services independently or jointly, or buy them from private non-profit or commercial service-providers. Cooperation between public and private sectors in health care has a longer tradition compared with cooperation in social care. There are some strong rational arguments to explain why social care systems and especially health care systems have been divided into separate units and parts. According to the policy on ageing, the goals of the non-institutional services were set to provide appropriately gradated services, integrated care chains and coordinated service packages for older persons. In Finland nine out of ten older persons suffer from some chronic disease or disability, the most prevalent being cardiovascular diseases and musculoskeletal diseases, together with diabetes and dementia.
