Innovative policy supports for integrated health and social care programs in high-income countries

As high-income countries face the challenge of providing better and more efficient integrated health and social care to high-needs and high-cost populations, they may require innovative policy supports at both the national and local levels. We categorized policy supports into four areas: governance and partnerships; workforce and staffing; financing and payment; and data sharing and use. Our structured survey of thirty integrated health and social care programs in high-income countries in 2018 found that the majority of programs had policy supports in two or more areas, with supports for governance and partnerships and for workforce and staffing being the most common. Financing and payment and data sharing and use were less common. Local partnerships empowered integration across sectors, and new staff roles that spanned health and social care embedded this integration in care delivery. National policies—including bundled financing and investment in data—enabled integration and cross-sector accountability.