Health reform through coordinated care: SA HealthPlus

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Abstract
Chronic illnesses contribute 60% of the global burden of disease, which by the year 2020 will increase to 80%.1 With ageing populations, no developed country can afford the projected increase in costs of chronic illness. To address this crisis, governments and healthcare organisations in developed countries have initiated programmes aimed at shifting the focus of health care from acute illness to chronic illness. Australian governments have initiated health reform using trials of coordinated care. We describe the largest of these trials, SA HealthPlus, its aims, outcomes, and lessons learnt.