Abstract
A mandatory multidisciplinary plan for individual care, the 'Individual care Plan', was introduced by law in Norway in 2001. The regulation was established to meet the need for improved efficiency and quality of health and social services, and to increase patient involvement. The plan was intended for patients with long-term and complex needs for coordinated care. The aim of this study was to elaborate on knowledge of such planning processes in Norwegian municipalities. A piloted questionnaire was sent to 92 randomly selected municipalities in 2005-2006, addressing local organization and participation in the work with individual care plans. Local political governance, size of the population, funds available for health care, and problems related to living conditions were indicators for analysing the extent to which the individual care plan was used five years after the regulation was introduced. Our results showed that 0.5% as opposed to an expected 3% of the population had an individual care plan. This was independent of the political, social and financial situation in the municipalities or the way the planning process had been carried out. The planning process was mostly taken care of by local health and social care professionals, rather than by hospital staff and general practitioners. The low number of care plans and the oblique responsibility among professionals for planning showed that the objectives of the national initiative had not been achieved. More research is needed to determine the reasons for this lack of success and to contribute to solutions for improved multidisciplinary cooperation.
Highlights
A mandatory multidisciplinary plan for individual care, the ‘Individual care Plan’, was introduced by law in Norway in 2001
Our results showed that 0.5% as opposed to an expected 3% of the population had an individual care plan
The purpose of this study was to explore the use of individual care plans in Norwegian municipalities that are responsible for primary care and social services: 1. How extensive is the use of individual care plans? 2
Summary
A mandatory multidisciplinary plan for individual care, the ‘Individual care Plan’, was introduced by law in Norway in 2001. The aim of this study was to elaborate on knowledge of such planning processes in Norwegian municipalities According to both scientific and government publications, a growing number of people need better coordination of care across health and social services that involve a number of carers [1,2,3,4,5]. Since the law was passed, all kinds of patients in need of wide-ranging health and social services over time have had a legal right to an individual care plan including a named person to coordinate the services. Teachers typically contact the health visitor or social welfare officer to start the collaborative planning process They can mutually benefit in their work in relation to, for instance, a disabled child by cooperating across organizational boundaries
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