Interorganisational Integration: Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators within the Danish Healthcare System.
BACKGROUND
Despite many initiatives to improve coordination of patient pathways and intersectoral cooperation, Danish health care is still fragmented, lacking intra- and interorganisational integration. This study explores barriers to and facilitators of interorganisational integration as perceived by healthcare professionals caring for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease within the Danish healthcare system.


METHODS
Seven focus groups were conducted in January through July 2014 with 21 informants from general practice, local healthcare centres and a pulmonary department at a university hospital in the Capital Region of Denmark.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results can be grouped into five influencing areas for interorganisational integration: communication/information transfer, committed leadership, patient engagement, the role and competencies of the general practitioner and organisational culture. Proposed solutions to barriers in each area hold the potential to improve care integration as experienced by individuals responsible for supporting and facilitating it. Barriers and facilitators to integrating care relate to clinical, professional, functional and normative integration. Especially, clinical, functional and normative integration seems fundamental to developing integrated care in practice from the perspective of healthcare professionals.
Research Unit for Chronic Conditions, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Anne Marie
AM
Lyngsø
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hvidovre University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark.
Nina Skavlan
NS
Godtfredsen
Research Unit for Chronic Conditions, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Anne
A
Frølich
Denmark; barriers; facilitators; integration; interorganisational