TY - JOUR T1 - Integration of care: a bridge too far? JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 402 LP - 403 DO - 10.3399/bjgp12X653462 VL - 62 IS - 601 AU - Nigel Mathers AU - Mark Thomas Y1 - 2012/08/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/62/601/402.abstract N2 - With rising numbers of people with complex and long-term conditions, integrated health and social care is being hailed as one of the keys to combining better patient care with increased cost effectiveness in the face of budgetary pressures. What is integration, can it live up to this hope, and what might it mean for general practice?The principles underlying the integration of care may be summarised as ‘patient-centred, primary care led care, with multiprofessional teams where each profession retains their professional autonomy but works across professional boundaries, ideally with a shared electronic GP record’.1 The evidence suggests that successful integration of care requires sustained and effective leadership.2 The role of GPs, with their breadth of knowledge and their experience of working with a wide range of disciplines, will be vital if such a vision is to be realised.For patients with complex multimorbidity and long-term conditions, a care planning model, through which patients, health professionals, and carers work collaboratively to set person-centred goals, plan care, and review outcomes on a regular basis has been shown to be effective.3 However, without the right infrastructure and investment, general practice will not be able to be an effective provider and facilitator of such models of integrated care. Rising levels of demand, for example, make it difficult for GPs to provide the longer consultation times needed … ER -