The importance of integrated care will increase in future health systems due to aging
populations and patients with chronic multimorbidity, however, such complex healthcare
interventions are often developed and implemented in higher income countries. For
Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries it is important to investigate which
integrated care models are transferable to their setting and facilitate the implementation
of relevant models by identifying barriers to their implementation. This study investigates
the relative importance of integrated care models and the most critical barriers for
their implementation in CEE countries. Experts from Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania
and Serbia were invited to complete an online survey within the SELFIE H2020 project.
81 respondents completed the survey. Although experts indicated that some integrated
care models were already being implemented in CEE countries, the survey revealed a
great need for further improvement in the integration of care, especially the managed
care of oncology patients, coordinated palliative care of terminally ill patients,
and nursing care of elderly with multimorbidity. Lack of long-term financial sustainability
as well as of dedicated financing schemes were seen the most critical implementation
barriers, followed by the lack of integration between health and social care providers
and insufficient availability of human resources. These insights can guide future
policy making on integrated care in CEE countries.
