What is integration?

The word “integration” stems from the Latin verb “integer” which means “to complete.” The adjective “integrated” means “organic part of a whole” or “reunited parts of a whole.” It is mostly used to express the bringing together or merging of elements or components that were formerly separate.

“Integration” is used by different people to mean different things. There is no unifying definition or common conceptual understanding of integrated care. The concept of integrated care is strongly shaped by perspectives and expectations of various users in the system, making a unified definition difficult. Interestingly, all definitions converge around highlighting the central role of population and individual needs.

The approaches can be grouped into three broad categories:

• Individual models of integrated care.
• Group- and disease-specific models.
• Population-based models.