Richard Bowden, managing director of Bupa UK has written an essay calling for the integration of health and social care.
The essay has been published in A problem shared: essays on the integration of health and social care, a collection of essays collected by the think tank the Social Market Foundation.
In his essay Bowden outlines Bupa's experiences of providing both health and social care in both the UK and abroad, highlighting a partnership in Valencia with the regional government where Bupa helps provide integrated care.
He outlined his belief that the system needs to be designed around the patients, rather than trying to make the patients fit within the system.
He said: "We are already approaching present and future healthcare challenges through the lens of what our customers want: a truly integrated provider.
"However, like others, we still have much to do to be truly patient-centred and indeed there is a lot to do system-wide."
He added: "By joining up incentives and sharing out risk across primary and secondary healthcare, and between health and social care, we can give people access to joined-up services, personalised for them.
"It is clear that the status quo in the UK is not sustainable and making services work better for patients will require a change in culture."
