Teams without walls bring together healthcare professionals from primary and secondary care to work across traditional health boundaries to deliver care that puts the patient first.

The working party, made up of representatives from the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, suggest that jointly commissioned integrated health services should be provided by primary and secondary care working together. An integrated model of care, where multi-professional teams work in a managed network across services and manage patients on a care pathway designed by local clinicians is the best model for the future.

The report stresses that clinical leadership is required if this approach to commissioning is to be successful and says that the incentives and disincentives of Payment by Results need to be re-balanced to bring integrated specialist and generalist care closer to the patient’s home. The report suggests that the Department of Health should explore the idea of payment by pathway for an episode of care and annual payments by condition for long-term conditions.

Download: Teams without walls: the value of medical innovation and leadership