This framework was created to support the delivery of high-value care in the United States by focusing on three key elements:ġ) Improving the individual experience of careģ) Reducing the per capita cost of health. One internationally renowned framework, developed in 2008 by Donald Berwick and colleagues is the healthcare Triple Aim. This type of assessment provides us with an opportunity to identify strategies and learnings to ensure Australian consumers are provided with access to an adaptive, responsive, robust and effective healthcare system. Reflecting on models of care applied to various health systems worldwide, it’s helpful to assess these approaches to identify the best elements for bettering Australia’s healthcare performance. The Australian Government’s Department of Health states that “Australia’s health system is one of the best in the world” and although this is the case, there’s always room for improvement. Primary care and public health collaborations can strengthen community-based primary health care while addressing the Quadruple Aims with an emphasis on reducing health inequities but requires attention to collaboration barriers and enablers.To support the delivery of safe and quality-focused healthcare, the number of moving parts required to piece it all together is mind-boggling, yet daily, thousands of Australians benefit from comprehensive care. Cases achieved outcomes addressing the Q-Aims such as improving access to services, addressing population health through outreach to at-risk populations, reducing costs through efficiencies, and improving provider experience through capacity building.

Enablers included clear goals, trusting and inclusive relationships, role clarity, strong leadership, strong coordination and communication, and optimal use of resources. Perceived barriers included ineffective communication processes, inadequate time for collaboration, geographic challenges, lack of resources, and varying organizational goals and mandates. Barriers and enablers differed among cases. Common precipitators were having a shared vision and/or community concern. This provided an opportunity to explore how primary care and public health collaboration could serve in transforming community-based primary health care with the potential to address the Quadruple Aims.Īims of collaborations included: provider capacity building, regional vaccine/immunization management, community-based health promotion programming, and, outreach to increase access to care.

Data sources included a survey using the Partnership Self-Assessment Tool, focus groups, and document analysis. Ten case studies were conducted in three provinces (Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Columbia) to elucidate experiences of primary care and public health collaboration in different settings, contexts, populations and forms. This study aimed to explore the nature of Canadian primary care - public health collaborations, their aims, motivations, activities, collaboration barriers and enablers, and perceived outcomes. Concurrently, collaboration between primary care and public health has been the focus of current research, looking for integrated community-based primary health care models that best suit the health needs of communities and address health equity. It is at the forefront of Canadian reform debates aimed to improve a complex and often-fragmented health care system. The Quadruple Aim advocates for: improving patient experience, reducing cost, advancing population health and improving the provider experience. Health systems in Canada and elsewhere are at a crossroads of reform in response to rising economic and societal pressures.

Quadruple aim goals