Networks in Health Care

Abstract

Health care networks are international phenomena that can be found within all types of health care system from publicly funded systems in Europe, Canada and Australasia to the private business models of the United States. Moreover, networks in health care include a wide spectrum of agencies including purchasers, providers, professionals, consumers and policy-makers. The range of agencies involved in health care networks reflects the often fragmented nature of health care delivery, particularly for vulnerable client groups (such as the frail elderly) and for complex chronic illnesses that are now the most prevalent health problems in terms of both cost and impact in developed countries. The rise of clinical and hospital networks has been a system-response to this new paradigm of care. As Wagner (1998) describes, the current challenge for health systems is the development of a chronic care model, the features of which include the integration of primary and secondary care; the co-ordination of health and social care; and the development of team-based services where the skills of nurses and doctors are used to their best advantage.