Systemness is a term increasingly used to describe the desired future state of complex healthcare delivery systems — delivering patient-focused, seamless and high-quality care across the many parts of the system to maximize value for patients. It is about healthcare that is connected, smart, aware and adaptive to patient needs.
Systemness, and the move to the highest level of performance of integrated delivery, means developing a continuum of care, in an effective synergistic care delivery model, which maximizes customer value and addresses proactively the health of populations.
This shift is happening around the world with the consolidation of health care and the social services and the emergence of Integrated Delivery Networks. Hospitals are becoming holistic networks that collaborate with community-based, empowered institutions to keep communities healthy.
Patient-centered networks are being successfully implemented the world over rendering obsolete institution-based visions of the healthcare system.
What has worked in other jurisdictions? What are the lessons for building high-performance health and social services management networks? What are the benefits that have been demonstrated? How could such a model apply to the Quebec reality?