Le parcours de soins, un levier vers une intégration des soins ?

Since the August 13, 2004 Act, the care pathway has increasingly been used as a lever for controlling health expenditure but also as a tool for improving coordination and quality of care. In this article, our reflection focuses on the care pathway and its integration into the French healthcare system: how can the care pathway bring about new perspectives when it comes to organizing and funding health activities in France? To do so, we mobilize field work carried out in the Spanish Basque Country, which sheds an interesting light on how to finance and organize care pathways. A survey of health professionals was conducted in this area between 2013 and 2019. On the basis of that case and the various ongoing reforms we discuss the prospects for a change in the organization and funding of the French healthcare system. In particular, we underline the interest of the current experimentation by the different organizations favoring cooperation and coordination in the handling of the patient, as well as envisage funding opportunities for such care pathways. All of these considerations should help prepare future healthcare financing arrangements in France.