Designing a care coordination plan for weight loss is a complex process. The process requires leadership of both people and processes. Tackling the challenges that come about with excessive weight involves the improvement of service coordination. The integrated care is aimed at health-promoting activities as well as moving the patients from secondary health to primary care. The overweight, as well as obese people with other associated problems, have been receiving primary care. However, the patients’ number having severe obesity and other related issues has increased, making other patients to be referred to secondary care. Addressing such problems requires good leadership in designing a care coordination plan. According to Osmundsen, Dahl & Kulseng (2019), one of the leadership practices is mobilizing health care providers in both primary and secondary care to understand the complexity of the disease. Designing a care coordination plan calls for an enabling environment. Implementation of care coordination requires leadership support, financial and information systems as well as contractual levers. These factors create the necessary enabling environment for the plan.
There are several process improvements in the quality, safety, or cost of care as a result of a care coordination plan for weight loss. The organizational demand between secondary and primary health care is bridged via networks and collaboration, as well as formal and informal relations (Osmundsen, Dahl & Kulseng, 2019). The care coordination plan hinges on both competence and knowledge of health care providers in both secondary and primary health care levels, and in the process, care delivery is enhanced. The care coordination plan enhances safety through the use of common standards and practices, as well as an understanding the needs of the patients. The plan contributes to integrated patient care by combining the specialists’ expertise for holistic patient experience. Since the caregivers bridge the social as well as medical problems, the cost of care is reduced.
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The patient experience has been revamped and improved courtesy of a care coordination plan for weight loss. The hospitals must first provide a share of their expertise as well as knowledge before discharging patients to primary health. Because of the increasing complication of obesity and other related issues, secondary health care has been receiving numerous referrals from obesity-related complications (Osmundsen, Dahl & Kulseng, 2019). In this case, secondary health care has been under an immense burden. To ease the burden, the secondary health care providers have been engaging with the primary health care providers to build the capacity required in addressing the issues. In the process, the patient experience has been improved. Through the collaboration of specialists and general practitioners, shared understanding and practices have been enhanced. When patients become aware of the dialogue between the specialists and general practitioners, their sense of security is strengthened. The collaboration between secondary and primary health care services enhances continuity of care as well as improved quality of care provided.
Decisions related to developing a care coordination plan is part of WHO’s suite to support framework implementation on the integrated people-centered health services (IPCHS) (World Health Organization, 2018). WHO assembly approved the IPCHS in 2016. To achieve universal health coverage, health services designed around health institutions, as well as diseases, need to be revamped into health services with people and for the people. The framework guides the general practitioners as well as the system leaders to deliver care and meet the comprehensive health needs of the people.
References
Osmundsen, T., Dahl, U., & Kulseng, B. (2019). Enhancing knowledge and coordination in obesity treatment: a case study of an innovative educational program. BMC Health Services Research , 19 (1). doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4119-9
World Health Organization. (2018) Continuity and coordination of care: a practice brief to support the implementation of the WHO Framework on integrated people-centred health services. Geneva: License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
