Integrated care

Our work on joined-up health and care services

A year of integrated care systems: reviewing the journey so far

Integrated care systems represent a fundamental and far-reaching change in how the NHS works across different services and with external partners. This report is based on interviews with eight of the ‘first wave’ ICSs to understand how they are developing and to identify lessons for local systems and national policy-makers.

Joined-up listening: integrated care and patient insight

In this article, we articulate the opportunity that integrated care presents for using insight from people and populations to design services that meet their needs and reflect their priorities.

Making sense of integrated care systems, integrated care partnerships and accountable care organisations in the NHS in England

NHS England has recently changed the name of accountable care systems to integrated care systems. Our updated long read looks at work underway and makes sense of all the terminology.

Sam's story teaser

Joined-up care: Sam's story

Why does integrated care matter? And what does it mean for patients? This short animation brings integrated care to life.

Wigan film image

Rekindling hope in public services

Ahead of the publication of our report on the Wigan Deal, Chris Naylor explores how devolving power to frontline staff and service users can create the positive culture needed for improvement.

Commissioned report

Insights from the spread of the primary care home

This report was commissioned by the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) and explores the factors that contributed to the spread of the primary care home.

Enhanced health and wellbeing in care homes: doing things differently

A two-way street: primary care networks and integrated care systems

As primary care networks and integrated care systems develop, Anna Charles considers how their relationship might evolve to strengthen the voice of primary and community care and join up local services.

Building the dementia pathway: delivering place-based care

Understanding urban health: Thinking large and small

Improving population health in towns and cities requires both an overarching city-wide strategy, as well as a granular understanding of the needs of local neighbourhoods, as Chris Naylor and Kieron Boyle explain.

Evidence and consultation

NHS long-term plan: legislative proposals inquiry: Written submission to the Health and Social Care Committee

Our response to the Health and Social Care Committee's legislative proposals inquiry. We support the spirit of these proposals, which are intended to make it easier for local NHS bodies to work together to improve the health and care of their populations.

Don Berwick on payment reform: How can we do things differently?

Ben Collins talks with Professor Don Berwick, International Visiting Fellow at The King's Fund, about the current system of financial incentive schemes in the UK and how these could be reformed.

Primary care networks and the NHS long-term plan: the new player on the pitch

Richard Murray considers the role primary care networks are meant to play in alleviating workforce pressures, linking general practice with integrated care systems and improving population health.

The false promise of the self-improving health system

There is an urgent need to reform the system for paying and contracting for services in the NHS but new complex financial incentive schemes are not the answer, writes Ben Collins for HSJ.

Improving population health

What does improving population health really mean?

Everybody in NHS policy seems to be talking about population health. But what does it really mean and how can we improve it?

Payments and contracting for integrated care: The false promise of the self-improving health system

Why should the new payment systems being developed to support integrated care be any more successful than previous ones? This new report calls for urgent reform of the system for paying and contracting services in the NHS.

Lessons from the Wigan Deal

The Wigan Deal is a social contract between the council and the community. This project will examine how and why the Deal was developed, how it has been put into practice, and what others might learn from it.

Mental health in primary and community care

Improving health in urban communities

The NHS long-term plan explained

On 7 January, the NHS long-term plan was published setting out key ambitions for the service over the next 10 years. In this explainer, we set out the main commitments in the plan and provide our view of what they might mean, highlighting the opportunities and challenges for the health and care system as it moves to put the plan into practice.

Christie Watson: reflections on the NHS

Writer and former nurse, Christie Watson, talks about her experience working in the NHS, how demand has changed in recent years and the importance of public health and integrated care – along with the changes she thinks are necessary.

Community health services explained

Community services play a key role in keeping people well, treating and managing acute illness and long-term conditions, and supporting people to live independently – and yet they are poorly understood compared to other parts of the NHS. In this explainer we set out what community services are, the challenges faced and how they're changing.

Stephen Rosenthal and John Williford on the Montefiore health system

Stephen Rosenthal and John Williford talk about the approach of the Montefiore health system, and why their integrated approach to health care has been so successful.

2019: handling the uncertainty

Richard Murray reflects on the opportunities and challenges that 2019 may bring, as well as the need for flexibility in the face of uncertainty.

Integrated care and partnership working reading list

A selected list of references held by The King's Fund library.

Integrated care: commissioning and contracting reading list

A selected list of references held by The King's Fund library.