Commentary on “Integrating network theory into the study of integrated healthcare”

Abstract

As medicine continues to advance, fragmentation problems in care delivery – and the promise of care integration to solve them – will remain central. But focused research over the past thirty years has yet to uncover the key factors that enable integrated care. In their paper, Burns and colleagues offer a path to new discovery in this well-trodden area: drawing on network theory to better understand the social processes through which integrated care is produced. Social processes are a vital and understudied aspect of integration, and applying network theory may help to refocus integration in a more comprehensive way. However, to transform our understanding of integrated care – and to enable impact in practice – will require expansion beyond the usual network approaches to also capture the communication and work processes that occur among entities. This is no small endeavor. It will take considerable humility, open-mindedness, and focus.