Demand and supply for psychological help in general practice in different European countries: access to primary mental health care in six European countries

BACKGROUND: The general practitioner is usually the first health care contact for mental problems. The position of a general practitioner may vary between health care systems, depending on the referral system (gatekeepers versus directly accessible specialists), presence of fixed lists and the payment system. This may influence patients' expectations and requests for help and GPs' performance. In this paper the effects of working in different health care systems on demand and supply for psychological help were examined. METHODS: Data were collected in six European countries with different health care system characteristics (Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK). For 15 consecutive contacts with 190 GPs in the six countries, each patient completed questionnaires concerning reason for visit and expectations (before) and evaluation (after consultation). General practitioners completed registration forms on each consultation, indicating familiarity with the patient and diagnosis. General practitioners completed a general questionnaire about their personal and professional characteristics as well. RESULTS: Practices in different countries differed considerably in the proportion of psychological reasons for the visit by the patient and psychological diagnoses by the GP. Agreement between patients' self-rated problems and GPs' diagnoses also varied. Patients in different countries evaluated their GPs' psychological performance differently as well, but evaluation was not correlated with agreement between request for help and diagosis. In gatekeeping countries, patients had more psycho-social requests, GPs made more psychological diagnoses and agreement between both was relatively high. Evaluation, however, was more positive in non-gatekeeping countries. Individual characteristics of doctors and patients explained only a relatively small part of variance. CONCLUSIONS: Health care system characteristics do affect GPs' performance in psycho-social care.     

Essential national health research in developing countries: Health-care financing and the quality of care

New research integrating expertise in financing and quality assurance is critical at times when resource constraints threaten to undermine the sustainability of effective healthcare services. Cost-effectiveness is related to the quality of the health-care intervention. In the economics literature, health-care demand studies generally indicate that quality is an important determinant of utilization patterns, but do not clearly identify those components of quality most important to the patient. On the supply side, cost analyses have not closely examined cost-quality tradeoffs, nor the net costs of quality. Policy makers must determine the affordability of cost-recovery mechanisms, which include both increases in price and quality. Further research should identify those aspects of quality which will maximize effectiveness at the least cost, thus helping to promote the financial sustainability of the health service.     

Towards a stakeholders' consensus on patient payment policy: the views of health‐care consumers,providers, insurers and policy makers in six Central and Eastern European countries

Background

Although patient charges for health‐care services may contribute to a more sustainable health‐care financing, they often raise public opposition, which impedes their introduction. Thus, a consensus among the main stakeholders on the presence and role of patient charges should be worked out to assure their successful implementation.

Aim

To analyse the acceptability of formal patient charges for health‐care services in a basic package among different health‐care system stakeholders in six Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine).

Methods

Qualitative data were collected in 2009 via focus group discussions and in‐depth interviews with health‐care consumers, providers, policy makers and insurers. The same participants were asked to fill in a self‐administrative questionnaire. Qualitative and quantitative data are analysed separately to outline similarities and differences in the opinions between the stakeholder groups and across countries.

Results

There is a rather weak consensus on patient charges in the countries. Health policy makers and insurers strongly advocate patient charges. Health‐care providers overall support charges but their financial profits from the system strongly affects their approval. Consumers are against paying for services, mostly due to poor quality and access to health‐care services and inability to pay.

Conclusions

To build consensus on patient charges, the payment policy should be responsive to consumers'' needs with regard to quality and equity. Transparency and accountability in the health‐care system should be improved to enhance public trust and acceptance of patient payments.     

国外卫生总费用筹资水平与结构比较评价

介绍了国内外卫生总费用（NHE）核算分类口径的差异。根据世界卫生组织（WHO）卫生总费用筹资指标,收集《OECD Health Data 2006》和《The World Health Report 2006》中的数据,对部分经济合作与发展组织（OECD）和中、低收入国家卫生总费用筹资规模和结构进行比较分析：两者在人均NHE、NHE／GDP及公共卫生支出占NHE的比例上具有较大差距,变化趋势也各具特点。在此基础上提出：各国政府要注重调控NHE／GDP的比重关系,实现宏观经济与卫生的同步、协调发展;部分国家应强化政府在卫生筹资领域的主导作用,着力改变不合理的筹资构成,以减轻居民个人卫生费用支付负担,提高卫生系统筹资公平性。     

Determinants of integrated health care development: chains of care in Sweden

Local health care in Sweden is an emerging form of integrated care, linked together by chains of care. Experiences show, however, that the development of chains of care is making slow progress. In order to study the factors behind this development, an embedded multiple-case study design was chosen. The study compared six health authorities in Sweden, three with successful and three with unsuccessful chain of care development. Three major determinants of integrated health care development were identified: professional dedication, legitimacy and confidence. In more detail, space for prime movers and trust between participants were crucial success factors, while top-down approaches targeting at the same time a change of management systems were negative for the development of chains of care. Resistance from the body of physicians was a serious obstacle to such a development. Local health care depends on developed chains of care, but it seems that health care managers do not have the management systems necessary to run these clinical networks, mainly due to a lack of acceptance from the medical profession. This is an impossible situation in the long run, since the number of chains of care is likely to increase as a result of the emerging local health care.     

国外健康素养型医疗机构建设与评价及对我国的启示

介绍了美国医学研究所(Institute of Medicine,IOM)发布《健康素养型医疗机构的10个特征(Ten Attributes of Health Literate Health Care Organizations,HLHO 10个特征)》文件的背景及健康素养型医疗机构(health literate health care organization,HLHO)概念,并以Donabedian的理论为指导综述了HLHO的特征和建设措施及HLHO评价的研究进展。提出了我国医疗机构可借鉴《HLHO 10个特征》文件与国外HLHO评价现状,从人员培训、文化、制度、物理和信息环境建设,要求员工应用健康素养策略,促进服务对象参与健康材料的开发及医务人员健康教育工作的考核等措施入手,践行《健康中国行动(2019—2030年)》提出的“医务人员在诊疗过程中主动提供健康指导”和“建立医务人员开展健康教育绩效考核机制”两项指标。     

Typical electronic health record use in primary care practices and the quality of diabetes care

PURPOSE

Recent efforts to encourage meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) assume that widespread adoption will improve the quality of ambulatory care, especially for complex clinical conditions such as diabetes. Cross-sectional studies of typical uses of commercially available ambulatory EHRs provide conflicting evidence for an association between EHR use and improved care, and effects of longer-term EHR use in community-based primary care settings on the quality of care are not well understood.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 16 EHR-using and 26 non–EHR-using practices in 2 northeastern states participating in a group-randomized quality improvement trial. Measures of care were assessed for 798 patients with diabetes. We used hierarchical linear models to examine the relationship between EHR use and adherence to evidence-based diabetes care guidelines, and hierarchical logistic models to compare rates of improvement over 3 years.

RESULTS

EHR use was not associated with better adherence to care guidelines or a more rapid improvement in adherence. In fact, patients in practices that did not use an EHR were more likely than those in practices that used an EHR to meet all of 3 intermediate outcomes targets for hemoglobin A_1c, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure at the 2-year follow-up (odds ratio = 1.67; 95% CI, 1.12–2.51). Although the quality of care improved across all practices, rates of improvement did not differ between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Consistent use of an EHR over 3 years does not ensure successful use for improving the quality of diabetes care. Ongoing efforts to encourage adoption and meaningful use of EHRs in primary care should focus on ensuring that use succeeds in improving care. These efforts will need to include provision of assistance to longer-term EHR users.     

浙江省农村预防保健服务现状研究

浙江省农村预防保健服务模式主要有医防合一模式；依院设所、相对独立模式；政府购买服务模式。普遍存在着经费投入不足，筹资机制不健全；重治轻防，防保职能难以落实；网络破损．工作难以开展；队伍素质不高；运行机制不畅等问题．需要通过改革服务模式逐步加以解决。     

郴州农村妇女卫生保健意识及健康教育需求调查

目的:了解湖南省郴州市农村妇女卫生保健意识及其健康教育需求,为进一步提高健康教育质量提供依据。方法:结合预防医学本科生社会实践,组织大学生对郴州市保和乡326名农村妇女进行问卷调查。结果:大部分调查对象的卫生保健意识较差,近1年来,40.5%的妇女出现过生殖道感染症状;卫生保健意识主要与年龄、文化程度有关(P0.05);调查对象对健康教育的需求主要是儿童保健、常见妇科疾病预防和孕产期保健等方面的知识。结论:应针对不同年龄、不同文化层次的农村妇女进行相应的健康教育,健康教育的方式应多种多样。大学生组织的社会实践活动在农村妇女的健康促进工作中有着重要的作用。     

A realistic approach to the evaluation of the quality management movement in health care systems: a comparison between European and African contexts based on Mintzberg's organizational models

The quality movement is gaining momentum worldwide in the field of health care. Initiated in industrialized countries, it steadily grows in Africa. However, there is no evidence that approaches designed to address issues in a given organizational context have the same effect in another one where issues present differently. Along the epistemological paradigm of realistic evaluation proposed by Pawson and Tilley, we use Mintzberg's organizational models to compare the configurations of European and African health care organizations and the trends followed by the quality management movement in both contexts. We illustrate how European health systems traditionally emphasize professional autonomy while African health systems are structured as command and control hierarchical systems. We illustrate how the quality movement in Europe emphasizes standardization of procedures, a characteristic of a mechanistic organization, while excessive standardization is part of the quality problem in Africa. We suggest that instilling professionalism may be a way forward for the quality movement in Africa to improve patient focus and responsiveness of responsible professionals. We also suggest that our interpretation of broad trends and contrasts may be used as a useful departure point to study the wide contextual diversity of the African experience with quality management.     

Access to health care resources in the UK: the case of care for arthritis

The paper uses new and detailed data from a population sample of individuals with arthritis to examine the impact of objective measures of need for treatment and individual measures of socio-economic position on the distribution of public and private health care. The quality of the data and the range of explanatory factors are more detailed than previously used to study of the allocation of NHS care. The results indicate that broadly the NHS appears to meet its equity goal of equal care for equal medical need, though there is evidence that education increases the amount of resources received. The results also show the importance of the interaction between the public and private sectors in the UK.     

浙江省农村预防保健服务模式改革试点研究

浙江省农村预防保健服务的改革试点模式采取依院设所、相对独立，自收自支、自负盈亏、少量定额补助等措施，与传统模式比较具有运行机制较为顺畅、工作质量有所提高等优势，但也还存在着一些问题．需要在今后的工作中进一步改进。     

Where efficiency saves lives: A linear programme for the optimal allocation of health care resources in developing countries

Morbidity and mortality are directly influenced by the available health care budget. In addition, the optimal allocation of this scarce resource to the different strata of the health care system depends on the health care priorities. This paper presents a linear programming model in order to analyse the impact of changes of the health care budget and the goal system of the health care system on the optimal allocation to preventive and curative medicine. The model demonstrates that the current resource allocation in developing countries is inefficient. This calls for a new emphasis on preventive medicine and primary care in the political processes in developing countries. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Bypassing health providers: the quest for better price and quality of health care in Chad

This paper investigates individuals' bypassing behavior in the health sector in Chad and the determinants of individuals' facility choice. We introduce a new way for measuring bypassing which uses the patients' own knowledge of alternative health providers available to them, instead of assuming perfect information as previously done. We analyze how objective and perceived health care quality and prices impact patients' bypassing decisions. The analysis uses data from a health sector survey carried out in 2004 covering 281 primary health care centers and 1801 patients. We observe that income inequalities translate into health service inequalities. We find evidence of two distinct types of bypassing activities in Chad: (1) patients from low-income households bypass high quality facilities they cannot afford and go to low-quality facilities, and (2) rich individuals bypass low-quality facilities and aim for more expensive facilities which also offer a higher quality of care. These significant differences in patients' facility choices are observed across income groups as well as between rural and urban areas.     

Control and performance of health care systems. A comparative analysis of 19 OECD countries

This paper performs an empirical comparison of health systems. Health systems are seen as networks of delegation relationships among principals and agents, subject to agency problems. Following the institutional economics approach, a health system's efficiency is considered to be determined by the existence and treatment of agency problems. Agency problems can be controlled by mechanisms built into the health system, or can also be controlled by an external actor, for example, the government, either by using the instruments available or by conducting institutional reforms. To explain differences in the amenability of a country's health system to external governmental control, I combine the veto player approach and the incentives for societal actors to exert influence, into the concept of indirect veto players: the more indirect veto players exist, the less external control will be exercised.I derive indicators capturing both forms of control and perform a comparison of health systems based on institutional and performance data. Using data reducing methods, I identify two dimensions of control underlying the institutional setting of the health system and three dimensions of health system performance. The relationships found between control and performance confirm the hypotheses derived from the adopted theoretical approach.     

Thirty years of national health insurance in South Korea: lessons for achieving universal health care coverage

South Korea introduced mandatory social health insurance forindustrial workers in large corporations in 1977, and extendedit incrementally to the self-employed until it covered the entirepopulation in 1989. Thirty years of national health insurancein Korea can provide valuable lessons on key issues in healthcare financing policy which now face many low- and middle-incomecountries aiming to achieve universal health care coverage,such as: tax versus social health insurance; population andbenefit coverage; single scheme versus multiple schemes; purchasingand provider payment method; and the role of politics and politicalcommitment. National health insurance in Korea has been successfulin mobilizing resources for health care, rapidly extending populationcoverage, effectively pooling public and private resources topurchase health care for the entire population, and containinghealth care expenditure. However, there are also challengesposed by the dominance of private providers paid by fee-for-service,the rapid aging of the population, and the public-private mixrelated to private health insurance.     

Choice and solidarity: the health sector in Eastern Europe and proposals for reform

The citizens of Eastern Europe have witnessed an unprecedented social and economic transformation during the past decade of transition from socialism to market-based economies. We describe the legacy of socialism and summarize the current state of the health sector in ten Eastern European countries, including financing, delivery, purchasing, physician incomes and the widespread phenomenon of under-the-table payments. The proposals for reform, derived from explicit guiding principles, are based on organized public financing for basic care, private financing for supplementary care, pluralistic delivery of services, and managed competition, with attention to incentives and regulation to impose a constraint on overall health spending.