TY - JOUR
AU - D. A. Petrie
A1 - 
AB - Healthcare systems in Canada are under pressure and require change-the status quo is no longer fit for purpose, if it ever was. Innovation is often held up as a cure for what ails us, but shiny new things or novel technologies alone have not been enough. This article will explore the concepts of differentiation and integration as being important drivers in the evolution of living organisms, ecosystems, and complex human organizations. The implications of this deep pattern of systems change are essential to understanding the roles of specialization in medicine, and optionality in primary care. Specifically, overspecialization without attention to the principles of healthcare integration can lead to fragmentation of care and worse patient outcomes. Finally, this article will describe some practical examples of system integration as innovation in the form of better public health and care delivery connections, health homes, and community care coordination centres.
AD - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. RINGGOLD: 12361
AN - 39440900
BT - Healthc Manage Forum
C5 - Education & Workforce
CP - 2
DA - Mar
DO - 10.1177/08404704241292629
DP - NLM
ET - 20241023
IS - 2
JF - Healthc Manage Forum
LA - eng
N2 - Healthcare systems in Canada are under pressure and require change-the status quo is no longer fit for purpose, if it ever was. Innovation is often held up as a cure for what ails us, but shiny new things or novel technologies alone have not been enough. This article will explore the concepts of differentiation and integration as being important drivers in the evolution of living organisms, ecosystems, and complex human organizations. The implications of this deep pattern of systems change are essential to understanding the roles of specialization in medicine, and optionality in primary care. Specifically, overspecialization without attention to the principles of healthcare integration can lead to fragmentation of care and worse patient outcomes. Finally, this article will describe some practical examples of system integration as innovation in the form of better public health and care delivery connections, health homes, and community care coordination centres.
PY - 2025
SN - 0840-4704 (Print); 0840-4704
SP - 76
EP - 83+
ST - Integration as innovation in healthcare systems
T1 - Integration as innovation in healthcare systems
T2 - Healthc Manage Forum
TI - Integration as innovation in healthcare systems
U1 - Education & Workforce
U3 - 10.1177/08404704241292629
VL - 38
VO - 0840-4704 (Print); 0840-4704
Y1 - 2025
ER -