Creating a continuum. The goal is to provide an integrated system of care

The idea of a continuum of care is hardly new. In its purest form, it is simply the essence of good patient care. Today, the complex U.S. healthcare organization has emerged as a highly sophisticated but fragmented collection of service providers. We now must put energy and resources into rebuilding the comprehensiveness and continuity that represent high-quality care. The rationale for a continuum of care is that it is appropriate for patients' needs, demanded by today's consumers, an organized way of maximizing use of healthcare resources, and cost-effective for providers, patients, and payers. A continuum of care comprises services and integrating mechanisms. The services can be broken into seven basic categories: extended care, acute hospital care, ambulatory care, home care, outreach, wellness, and housing. The four basic integrating mechanisms are interentity planning and management, care coordination, case-based financing, and integrated information systems. Shaping a continuum mandates translating broad principles into pragmatic application suitable for the organization and community. The organization should define goals and objectives, identify a target population, assess services, evaluate integrating mechanisms, communicate, and prepare a business plan.