With regret this is my last newsletter as Chair of IFIC Australia, as I stepped down from the role at our last Partners meeting in April. I’ll still be involved with IFICA as a Senior Associate but given that I’m shifting back to New Zealand it is important that there is an Australian based Chair to take over responsibility.

It’s been a great privilege over the year working with so many wonderful people and being part of IFIC Australia’s growth.

We’ve made such huge strides over the last 18 months. In particular, this has seen the development of the data base, the case studies, gathering a bevy of such great and influential partners to the cause, the holding of the 1st Asia-Pacific Conference (APIC1) and the Accelerated Learning Workshop in Orange, numerous webinars and workshops and of course working with our Partners.

Special thanks for their support, vision and keen organisational processes go to IFIC CEO Nick Goodwin and his great team at IFIC HQ and David Perkins and the team at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health in Orange, especially Hazel Dalton and Lucy McEvoy. In this I wish to acknowledge also what a bonus it will be to have Nick, living and working in Australia later in the year as Professor and Director of the Central Coast Research Institute, a joint initiative between the University of Newcastle and the Central Coast Local Health District.

There are still significant challenges ahead but as we look forward to APIC2, I am confident that IFICA will go from strength to strength.

All the best and integrate well,

Peter McGeorge
Chairperson
IFIC Australia 
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There are many innovations in integrated care ongoing in Australia and worldwide, but most often there is a lack of awareness or appreciation of these projects in how they have been designed and implemented and the impact they have made. One of the strategic priorities for IFIC Australia in 2018/19 has been to initiate a mapping exercise to collate innovative case studies in integrated care from across Australia and in this newsletter we publish a first collection of case studies pioneered by Children’s Health Queensland and partners.

Going forward, IFIC Australia will be partnering with IFIC Ireland, IFIC Scotland and IFIC Canada to develop a common approach to identify and assess innovative case studies to develop a database of global initiatives. The initiative will be launched in October 2019 across the IFIC network as a means to showcase innovation and bring new knowledge together in a comparable format. For more information, or to make an expression of interest to submit your published and/or unpublished case studies, please contact Edelweiss Aldasoro

• Achieving Value for People and Populations
• Implementing Integrated Care
• Empowering and Engaging People and Communities
• Integrated Care Innovations, Models and Systems
• Evaluation, Monitoring and Quality Improvement
• Improving People’s Health and Well-being through Integrated Care

Designing and Implementing Integrated Care - An Accelerated Learning Course for Leaders in Integrated Care Programs in Australia

The program will take place at the Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Orange, New South Wales from 4-8 November 2019.  

This accelerated learning course builds on the success of last year’s course, a collaboration between IFIC Australia and CRRMH. It responds to demand from the health and care sector to help build capacity and skills in the effective adoption of integrated care programs in practice.

Read about the success of last year programme here.

This course is designed as a residential program to support PHNs/LHDs, and their local partners, to build their knowledge about the design and implementation of integrated care programs to support specific project developments in their own context.

Places on the course are available by direct application. To make a booking, or to find out more about the program, please contact Lucy McEvoy at Lucy.McEvoy@newcastle.edu.au

We are very pleased that the 20th International Conference on Integrated Care will take place in Sibenik,Croatia from 27-29 April 2020 . The conference is a partnership of  the City of Zagreb, Health center Zagreb – Center, Libertas University, University of Zagreb and Ministarstvo zdravstva . The conference will bring together researchers, clinicians and managers from around the world who are engaged in the design and delivery of integrated health and social care. The call for papers will be announced in early July.

On the 17th April 2019, Nick Goodwin hosted a seminar at the University of Newcastle’s Sydney Campus to examine the international evidence and experience in coordination of care to older people with complex needs in the home environment. Download Nick’s presentation here 

The seminar subject was inspired by the conclusion of a four-year European Union project called SUSTAIN (Sustainable Tailored Integrated Care for Older People in Europe). Working across 13 case initiatives in 7 different EU countries, this project sought to develop support interventions to stimulate integrated care initiatives through an implementation science approach and so contribute to our knowledge on how health and care systems in other countries should seek to design and implement such programmes over time.

IFIC led the work package in the development of a roadmap to guide implementation, improvement, design, engagement of stakeholders, and system-wide transformation as a means to support decision-makers in taking action to better meet the needs of older people whose care today is often so poorly managed and fragmented (see here).

Collaboration is at heart of integrated care. Responding to the differing needs, aspirations and contexts of individuals and their families is beyond the gift and expertise of a single profession. Multi-disciplinary teams, care co-ordination, shared electronic records, co-location and inter-professional education all seek to facilitate better collaboration between practitioners from different backgrounds. As integration incorporates consideration of the social determinants of health and wellbeing, it is engaging with a greater range of services and professions, including those based in the community sector, and other welfare areas including employment and housing.

This broadening of focus and diversification of professional perspectives has led to different voices within integrated care debates. It is much more common to hear the perspectives of practice nurses, physical therapists, psychiatrists along with the traditional foundation of nursing and medical professionals. Social work is one of these voices, but generally as a complement to health, and in particular doctors, rather being than a strong principle contributor.

Is it an issue that social workers seem rarely to be leaders of integrated care? [Read more]

Dr Robin Miller is Co-Director of the Centre for Leadership in Health & Social Care and Head of the Department of Social Work & Social Care at the University of Birmingham.

Robin's new book Social Work and Integrated Care is available here

Integrated care is a well-established concept amongst health policy makers and system leaders in Australia.  However it is still considered by many to be a means of improving outcomes and experience of care for older adult populations.  Children and young people are often left out of the conversation.

We know that improving life outcomes for children and young people, especially those in our most disadvantaged communities, requires more than meeting their health care needs.  Non-medical services such as education, housing and social support are equally important, as is the need to support good family functioning and promote thriving communities.  It is clear that community-wide effort and cross-sector collaboration is required if we are to improve child health outcomes and positively impact the health of future generations.

The suite of case studies showcased in this newsletter will give a sense of the depth and breadth of integrated care initiatives being undertaken by CHQ in conjunction with our partner organisations.  They also highlight the multiple levels at which integrated care must occur:  from the system level (see the Our Children and Communities Matter case study), the organisational level (see the Navigate your Health case study), and arguably the most important, the frontline clinician level (see the GPLO and Project ECHO case studies).  We hope that you, and the populations of children and young people you serve, benefit through the sharing of them. [Read more]

Dr Dana Newcombe is Medical Director for Integrated Care at Children's Hospital Queensland. 

IFIC Australia are delighted to announce a partnership with Health Justice Australia, here their Chief Executive, Tessa Boyd-Caine talks about  what that means. 

Integrated care is increasingly present in the priorities of Australia’s healthcare, from the work of our primary care services to the policy settings within government. Internationally, the movement for integrated care has recognised the impact of social needs on people’s health and has brought the integration of social assistance into healthcare within its focus. There is huge opportunity to advance this agenda in Australia, both in terms of the capacity and capability of our health, legal and human services; and more importantly, for the benefit of people’s health.
Health justice partnership is one model that brings together different services around the needs of the people who use them. [Read more]

The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) is Australia’s national peak body for public and not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare providers. The Health Advocate is the AHHA’s magazine and includes commentary and insights from Australia’s leading health managers, academics and clinicians. The magazine includes the latest developments and thinking in the Australian health system. AHHA are an official knowledge partner of IFIC Australia.

In April’s edition, Dr Nick Goodwin and Dr David Perkins provide an overview of IFIC Australia developments, plans for 2019 and hopes for the future.

You can read the full article here pages 28-29.

The National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) announced Dr Elizabeth Schroeder, IJIC Editor as a new member from 3 April 2019 to 31 January 2021.

NMHC Chair, Lucy Brogden, said “The new members of the Advisory Board have been selected for their experience and leadership in all aspects of mental health and suicide prevention and we look forward to working alongside them.”
The Commission reports on mental health in Australia, and provides advice to Government on ways to continuously improve mental health and suicide prevention and will lead the new National Mental Health Workplace Initiative, announced in the 2019 Budget.

Dr Elizabeth-Ann Schroeder is a Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for the Health Economy and Senior Lecturer for the Macquarie University’s Department of Health Systems and Populations Faculty of Medicine. She has extensive experience (locally and internationally) in applied research in the economics of complex public health interventions. Her current research work centres around health systems integration and mental health. In her previous roles she has collaborated with national research, audit and commissioning bodies to translate research findings into policy.

IFIC supports a host of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which have been set up by IFIC members to allow the collaboration and development of specific topics within the Integrated Care field. These groups are led by experts in their respective specialist areas and give like-minded individuals the opportunity to make valuable contacts and gain insight and additional knowledge.

The overall aim for SIGs is to promote the development, adaptation or translation of scientific approaches for the specific purposes of integrated care, and/or promote a specific topic within the integrated care field. Topics may focus on research methodologies and certain target groups or similar.

SIGs run independently but receive support from IFIC via its website, which facilitates a blog and discussion forum. IFIC also helps SIGs promote their work via its communication channels including conferences, newsletters, social media platforms, marketing partners and our website.

Join IFIC’s growing SIGs movement, you just need join IFIC's Global Network - joining is free!