The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA) has published an interview with Prof. Jean Bousquet, from EUREGHA member Languedoc Roussillon, on integrated care pathways. Prof Bousquet is a member of the B3 Group on Integrated Care, and Languedoc Roussillon is a reference site to the EIP-AHA.

In the interview, Prof. Bousquet discusses the advantages of integrated care pathways (ICPs) when treating patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), such as asthma. CRDs are different compared to other chronic diseases since they start in childhood and persist across the life cycle. Therefore, ICPs are needed to facilitate for early recognition and management to promote active and healthy ageing. Furthermore, it is expected that regional ICPs can have positive results in reducing the burden on health systems regarding hospitalisations, overall morbidity and costs.

In the article, Prof. Bousquet also stresses that ICPs need to be adapted after the context in EU regions, as there are different health systems, cultural differences and differences in the coverage of healthcare systems. Lastly, Prof Bousquet stresses the need to integrate eHealth solutions in ICPs as there is an urgent need for electronic diagnosis, and the use of eHealth will also improve the level of adherence and monitoring of patients.

To read the full interview, please see here.