Health systems in transition最新文献

{"title":"Azerbaijan: health system review.","authors":"Fuad Ibrahimov,&nbsp;Aybaniz Ibrahimova,&nbsp;Jenni Kehler,&nbsp;Erica Richardson","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Reform of the health care system in Azerbaijan has been incremental so that organizationally it still has many of the key hallmarks of the Soviet model of health care, the Semashko system. However, relatively low levels of government expenditure on health as a proportion of gross domestic product since independence has meant that out of pocket (OOP) payments accounted for almost 62% of total health expenditure in 2007. This has serious implications for access to care and financial risk protection for vulnerable households. The private provision of services is an increasingly important part of the health system, and services provided in parallel by other ministries and state enterprises continue to account for a certain amount of health expenditure. Revenues from the recent oil boom have been used to fund large capital investment projects such as the building of new hospitals with the latest technology and the import of modern equipment. However, future plans include the strengthening of primary care and the introduction of mandatory health insurance as part of major reforms to the health financing system.</p>","PeriodicalId":38995,"journal":{"name":"Health systems in transition","volume":"12 3","pages":"1-115"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29513798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Belgium: Health system review.","authors":"Sophie Gerkens,&nbsp;Sherry Merkur","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. The Belgian population continues to enjoy good health and long life expectancy. This is partly due to good access to health services of high quality. Financing is based mostly on proportional social security contributions and progressive direct taxation. The compulsory health insurance is combined with a mostly private system of health care delivery, based on independent medical practice, free choice of physician and predominantly fee-for-service payment. This Belgian HiT profile (2010) presents the evolution of the health system since 2007, including detailed information on new policies. While no drastic reforms were undertaken during this period, policy-makers have pursued the goals of improving access to good quality of care while making the system sustainable. Reforms to increase the accessibility of the health system include measures to reduce the out-of-pocket payments of more vulnerable populations (low-income families and individuals as well as the chronically ill). Quality of care related reforms have included incentives to better integrate different levels of care and the establishment of information systems, among others. Additionally, several measures on pharmaceutical products have aimed to reduce costs for both the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI) and patients, while maintaining the quality of care.</p>","PeriodicalId":38995,"journal":{"name":"Health systems in transition","volume":"12 5","pages":"1-266, xxv"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29589400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"France: Health system review.","authors":"Karine Chevreul,&nbsp;Isabelle Durand-Zaleski,&nbsp;Stéphane Bahrami Bahrami,&nbsp;Cristina Hernández-Quevedo,&nbsp;Philipa Mladovsky","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. The French health care system is a mix of public and private providers and insurers. Public insurance, financed by both employees and employer contributions and earmarked taxes, is compulsory and covers almost the whole population, while private insurance is of a complementary type and voluntary. Providers of outpatient care are largely private. Hospital beds are predominantly public or private non-profit-making. The French population enjoys good health and a high level of choice of providers. It is relatively satisfied with the health care system. However, as in many other countries, the rising cost of health care is of concern with regards to the objectives of the health care system. Many measures were or are being implemented in order to contain costs and increase efficiency. These include, for example, developing pay-for-performance for both hospitals and self-employed providers and increasing quality of professional practice; refining patient pathways; raising additional revenue for statutory health insurance (SHI); and increasing the role of voluntary health insurance (VHI). Meanwhile, socioeconomic disparities and geographic inequality in the density of health care professionals remain considerable challenges to providing a good level of equity in access to health care. Organizational changes at the regional level are important in attempting to tackle both equity and efficiency-related challenges. While the organizational structure of the system remained very stable until the mid 1990s, in the following decade many changes occurred and several new institutions were created. Concurrently, the respective power and involvement of the parliament, government, local authorities and SHI in the policy-making process have evolved. However, the Ministry of Health has retained substantial control over the health system, although ongoing reforms at both the regional and the national levels may challenge its traditional role. This edition of the French HiT was written concurrently with the vote and implementation of the 2009 Hospital, Patients, Health and Territories Act, which dramatically changed again the organizational structure and management of the health care system at the regional and local level. In order to ensure a comprehensive description and understanding of the system, the HiT, therefore, describes both the previous organization and the reorganization following the Act. However, the implementation process of the Act and it","PeriodicalId":38995,"journal":{"name":"Health systems in transition","volume":"12 6","pages":"1-291, xxi-xxii"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29744112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ukraine: Health system review.","authors":"Valery Lekhan,&nbsp;Volodymyr Rudiy,&nbsp;Erica Richardson","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The HiT profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. The Ukrainian health system has preserved the fundamental features of the Soviet Semashko system against a background of other changes, which are developed on market economic principles. The transition from centralized financing to its extreme decentralization is the main difference in the health system in comparison with the classic Soviet model. Health facilities are now functionally subordinate to the Ministry of Health, but managerially and financially answerable to the regional and local self-government, which has constrained the implementation of health policy and fragmented health financing. Health care expenditure in Ukraine is low by regional standards and has not increased significantly as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) since the mid 1990s; expenditure cannot match the constitutional guarantees of access to unlimited care. Although prepaid schemes such as sickness funds are growing in importance, out-of-pocket payments account for 37.4% of total health expenditure. The core challenges for Ukrainian health care therefore remain the ineffective protection of the population from the risk of catastrophic health care costs and the structural inefficiency of the health system, which is caused by the inefficient system of health care financing. Health system weaknesses are highlighted by increasing rates of avoidable mortality. Recent political impasse has complicated health system reforms and policy-makers face significant challenges in overcoming popular distrust and fatigue in the face of necessary but as yet unimplemented reforms.</p>","PeriodicalId":38995,"journal":{"name":"Health systems in transition","volume":"12 8","pages":"1-183, xiii-xiv"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29763169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Greece: Health system review.","authors":"Charalambos Economou","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. The health status of the Greek population has strongly improved over the last few decades and seems to compare relatively favourably with other OECD and European Union (EU) countries. The health system is a mixture of public integrated, public contract and public reimbursement models, comprising elements from both the public and private sectors and incorporating principles of different organizational patterns. Access to services is based on citizenship as well as on occupational status.The system is financed by the state budget, social insurance contributions and private payments.The largest share of health expenditure constitutes private expenditure, mainly in the form of out of pocket payments which is also the element contributing most to the overall increase in health expenditure. The delivery of health care services is based on both public and private providers. The presence of private providers is more obvious in primary care,especially in diagnostic technologies, private physicians' practices and pharmaceuticals. Despite success in improving the health of the population, the Greek health care system faces serious structural problems concerning the organization, financing and delivery of services. It suffers from the absence of cost-containment measures and defined criteria for funding, resulting in sickness funds experiencing economic constraints and budget deficits. The high percentage of private expenditure goes against the principle of fair financing and equity in access to health care services. Efficiency is in question due to the lack of incentives to improve performance in the public sector. Mechanisms for needs assessment and priority-setting are underdeveloped and, as a consequence, the regional distribution of health resources is unequal. Centralization of the system is coupled with a lack of planning and coordination, and limited managerial and administrative capacity. In addition, the oversupply of physicians, the absence of a referral system, and irrational pricing and reimbursement policies are factors encouraging under-the-table payments and the black economy. These shortcomings result in low satisfaction with the health care system expressed by citizens. The landmark in the development of the Greek health care system was the creation of the national health system (ESY) in 1983. This report describes the development of the ESY at the structural level and generally, the process of implementing reforms. The strat","PeriodicalId":38995,"journal":{"name":"Health systems in transition","volume":"12 7","pages":"1-177, xv-xvi"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29680553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tajikistan: health system review.","authors":"Ghafur Khodjamurodov,&nbsp;Bernd Rechel","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. Tajikistan is undergoing a complex transition from a health system inherited from the Soviet period to new forms of management, financing and health care provision. Following independence and the consequences of the civil war, health funding collapsed and informal out-of-pocket payments became the main source of revenue, with particularly severe consequences for the poor. With the aim of ensuring equitable access to health care and formalizing out-of-pocket payments, the Ministry of Health developed a programme that encompassed a basic benefit package (also known as the guaranteed benefit package) for people in need and formal co-payments for other groups of the population. One of the main challenges for the future will be to reorient the health system towards primary care and public health rather than hospital-based secondary and tertiary care. Pilots of primary care reform, introducing per capita financing, are under way in three of the country's oblasts. There are marked geographical imbalances in health care resources and financing, favouring the capital and regional centres over rural areas. There are also significant inequities in health care expenditures across regions. The quality of care is another major concern, owing to the lack of investment in health facilities and technologies, an insufficient supply of pharmaceuticals, poorly trained health care workers, and a lack of medical protocols and systems for quality improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":38995,"journal":{"name":"Health systems in transition","volume":"12 2","pages":"v-xix, 1-154"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29513797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spain: Health system review.","authors":"Sandra García-Armesto,&nbsp;María Begoña Abadía-Taira,&nbsp;Antonio Durán,&nbsp;Cristina Hernández-Quevedo,&nbsp;Enrique Bernal-Delgado","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in health systems; describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis. This edition of the Spanish HiT focuses on the consequences of the totally devolved status, consolidated in 2002, and the implementation of the road map established by the 2003 SNS Cohesion and Quality Act. Many of the steps already taken underline the improvement path chosen: the SNS Inter-territorial Council (CISNS) comprising the national and regional health ministries was upgraded to the highest SNS authority, paving the way for a brand new consensus-based policy-making process grounded in knowledge management; its effects are progressively starting to be evident. It led the way to the SNS common benefits basket or the SNS human resources policy framework, laying the cornerstones for coordination and the enactment of the SNS Quality Plan. The Plan includes the work in progress to implement the national health information system, the development of a single electronic clinical record (eCR) containing relevant clinical information guaranteeing to patients continuity of care outside their Autonomous Community (AC) of residence or a single patient ID to be used across the country, thus creating the basis for the SNS functional single insurer. It has also become one of the main drivers for the design, implementation and monitoring of quality standards across the SNS, developing national health strategies to tackle both most prevalent chronic diseases (e.g. cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes) and rare diseases, as well as the National Strategy on Patient Safety. The SNS still has many challenges to face, some of which are commonplace across Western developed countries and some of which result from its own idiosyncratic features. The agenda laid out by the CISNS seems to address many of these challenges; its implementation will certainly test the political maturity of the system, and that of the coordination and cohesion tools developed. The eventual results of its implementation will deserve close attention, setting the evaluative agenda for the next few years.</p>","PeriodicalId":38995,"journal":{"name":"Health systems in transition","volume":"12 4","pages":"1-295, xix-xx"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29589399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}