Connecting Healthcare In Communities

The Connecting Healthcare in Communities (CHIC) Initiative represents a joint approach to establishing partnerships in the primary health care sector to improve the health of Queenslanders and increase the capacity of the health system over five (5) years commencing in 2006/07 to June 2011.

The CHIC Initiative has established local collaborations in primary health care aimed at enhancing service coordination and delivery through:

• shared planning and service delivery
• shared assessment tools;
• common management protocols;
• agreed roles in patient support and education; and
• local community health promotion action.
  
  

These formal partnerships are known as Primary Health Care Partnership Councils (Partnership Councils) and 15 have been established within approximate geographical boundaries of the Queensland Health, Health Service Districts.  The Partnership Councils, in focussing on enhancing service coordination and sharing service delivery, will target the reduction of risk factors and provide better primary clinical care, in turn leading to reductions in avoidable admissions, inappropriate referrals to outpatient services and improved quality of life.

Each Partnership Council will be required to jointly identify a priority from existing data and health plans and deliver shared primary health care services from within the scope of the Government health priorities of chronic and complex care, integrated health promotion and illness prevention, early childhood health (including ante and post natal care), community mental health and drug and alcohol services.

Partnership Councils are supported and guided under a joint governance structure which includes representation from key primary health care service provision agencies, at both the Area CHIC Partnership and Statewide CHIC Partnership level.