ABSTRACT
The integration of health care services is intended to improve the continuity, quality and efficiency of care provided to patients. This is a challenging goal and presumes that there is much about the current health care system that needs improvement. Health maintenance organisations (HMOs) provide a continuum of services including disease prevention, primary, secondary and tertiary acute care services, in exchange for a fixed membership fee per member per month. Community Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) provides a package of services, including housing, health care, and social services, to older adults. The chapter examines the efforts in the United States and the United Kingdom to integrate health services. It is apparent that fully integrated systems are more rare than appears at first glance. Thus the much more challenging task of developing fully integrated systems may be reserved for those sub-populations with high levels of medical need or special circumstances.
