Legacies of primary health care in an age of health sector reform: Vietnam's commune clinics in transition

Developing countries that were early, enthusiastic adopters of primary health care often developed an extensive - but eventually dilapidated and under utilized - network of public clinics at the grassroots. As paradigms and investment patterns of health sector reform have shifted, the question of what role these public clinics can meaningfully play, and how best to revitalize them, has become important in a number of countries. This paper evaluates the strategy taken by, and outcomes of, a major attempt in Vietnam to revitalize the grassroots infrastructure of primary health care against the backdrop of the country's economic transition. The project's substantial supply-side investments in infrastructure led to marginal increases in utilization and the quality of preventive health services provided by the centers. But because the project failed to take adequate stock of broader, public sector-wide trends and reforms over the transition, the investments had little impact on the incentives, accountability patterns and capacities of clinic staff and the local authorities. Such institutional factors are heavily implicated, in Vietnam as elsewhere, in the substantial and often increasing disparities in service access and quality that continue to afflict transitional health sectors.     

安徽省深化基层卫生综合改革的进展与挑战

安徽省为深化基层卫生综合改革,于2011年8月颁布了《关于巩固完善基层卫生综合改革的意见》。本文主要分析了该项政策实施以来的主要进展与挑战。政策实施以后,提高了乡镇卫生院服务效率和农村居民就医受益程度,促进了村卫生室落实基本药物制度等;但财政补助政策落实、乡镇卫生院服务提供、卫生技术人才队伍建设和药品配送等方面还存在一些问题。针对这些问题,提出了如下政策建议：落实财政保障制度,建立统分结合的人员聘用制度,完善基本药物采购及配送制度,加强村医及村卫生室管理,建立县域基层卫生服务能力评估制度等。     

安徽省肥西县基层卫生服务能力提升改革及其成效

目的:分析安徽省肥西县基层卫生服务能力提升改革措施及成效,为深化基层医疗卫生服务体系改革提供参考。方法:采用关键知情人访谈、政策文件和档案资料分析以及机构问卷调查等方法收集资料,定性和定量研究结合,通过交叉分析和解释得出研究发现。结果:2010—2014年,肥西县从基层卫生人员能力、卫生服务体系网络建设、工作条件改善、机构管理制度建设四方面进行改革后,基层卫生人员能力提升、工作积极性增加、收入提高,基层卫生条件改善,纵向和横向医疗服务协作机制建立,县内就诊率和基层卫生服务利用提高。结论:肥西县"自下而上"的探索路径和"以点带面"的试点推行,不仅是基层卫生体系综合改革的核心内容,也有效撬动了其它方面的改革,触动了医疗卫生体系体制机制。     

中国农村基本卫生保健工作发展与思考

目的：了解我国农村地区基本卫生保健工作的现状,以及在新世纪第一个十年中取得的成绩和存在的问题,为进一步推进农村基本卫生保健工作提出有针对性的政策建议。方法：按照分层抽样的方法,在全国选择400个县级行政单位,收集当地农村基本卫生保健工作的相关数据。结果与发现：（1）农村基本卫生保健工作得到政府重视,但财政保障仍不足;（2）乡村两级医疗卫生服务体系建设仍需不断完善;（3）基本公共卫生服务在医改政策推动下进展明显,后续要加大力度推进;（4）新型农村合作医疗制度不断完善;（5）基本药物制度实施使基层医疗卫生机构面临发展困境。     

Primary health care reform in Uzbekistan

In recent years, primary health care in Uzbekistan has seen dramatic changes in organization, management and financing. The Soviet multi-tiered system of primary care is being replaced by a two-tiered system, consisting in rural areas of rural physician points (SVPs) and outpatient clinics of central rayon hospitals. A state-guaranteed benefits package of primary care services has been introduced and financing is increasingly based on capitation. In addition, a considerable number of physicians and nurses have been trained in general practice. There are, however, a number of challenges that remain. One of them is the considerable regional differences that exist in health financing. Another challenge is that some rural areas have difficulties attracting primary care workers. Overall, the institutional and financial link between primary and secondary care needs to be strengthened, as at present GPs have an incentive to refer patients to higher levels of care, which is financially inaccessible for large parts of the population.     

Contribution of primary care to health systems and health

Evidence of the health-promoting influence of primary care has been accumulating ever since researchers have been able to distinguish primary care from other aspects of the health services delivery system. This evidence shows that primary care helps prevent illness and death, regardless of whether the care is characterized by supply of primary care physicians, a relationship with a source of primary care, or the receipt of important features of primary care. The evidence also shows that primary care (in contrast to specialty care) is associated with a more equitable distribution of health in populations, a finding that holds in both cross-national and within-national studies. The means by which primary care improves health have been identified, thus suggesting ways to improve overall health and reduce differences in health across major population subgroups.     

Physician payments under health care reform

This study examines the impact of major health insurance reform on payments made in the health care sector. We study the prices of services paid to physicians in the privately insured market during the Massachusetts health care reform. The reform increased the number of insured individuals as well as introduced an online marketplace where insurers compete. We estimate that, over the reform period, physician payments increased at least 11 percentage points relative to control areas. Payment increases began around the time legislation passed the House and Senate—the period in which their was a high probability of the bill eventually becoming law. This result is consistent with fixed-duration payment contracts being negotiated in anticipation of future demand and competition.     

北京市乡村两级基本医疗卫生服务包设计研究

阐述了北京市乡村两级基本医疗卫生服务项目的 筛选原则与依据,提出了北京市农村基本卫生服务包的筛选标准,获得了北京市乡村两级基本医疗卫生服务包的筛选结果,分析了基本医疗卫生服务包的合理性、适应性及可操作性,并探讨了开展基本医疗卫生服务的保障条件,以供其他地区借鉴.     

新一轮医改以来我国基层卫生人力资源现状及问题分析

目的:分析新一轮医改以来我国基层卫生人才资源现状和问题,为稳定基层卫生人才队伍提供参考。方法:运用描述性统计分析和公平性分析方法,分析我国基层医疗卫生人员的数量、结构和分布公平性。结果:基层卫生人员数量显著增加,人员素质有所提升;以省为单位的东中西部地区基层卫生人员Gini系数和泰尔指数均不断减小;东部地区内部的差异是影响总体差异的主要因素。结论:我国基层卫生人才队伍仍存在人员数量不足和流失并存、职称结构失衡以及城乡、地区差距较大等问题;主要原因有激励机制不合理、人员配置行政化、医改部分措施的协同作用有待进一步发挥等;建议进一步改革收入分配制度、提高基层治理能力和加强政策协同,以吸引和稳定基层卫生人才队伍。     

公共卫生保障体系的建立与农村卫生改革

SARS的肆虐,使我们看到了建立公共卫生保障体系的迫切性;“三农”问题的日益突出,使农村卫生改革变得更加刻不容缓。把公共卫生保障体系的建立与农村卫生的改革有机地融合在一起,是一个新的思路,也是一个新的课题。本文试图对此作初步的探讨。     

Strategic purchasing reform in Estonia: Reducing inequalities in access while improving care concentration and quality

As of 2014, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund has adopted new purchasing procedures and criteria, which it now has started to implement in specialist care. Main changes include (1) redefined access criteria based on population need rather than historical supply, which aim to achieve more equal access of providers and specialties; (2) stricter definition and use of optimal workload criteria to increase the concentration of specialist care (3) better consideration of patient movement; and (4) an increased emphasis on quality to foster quality improvement. The new criteria were first used in the contract cycle that started in 2014 and resulted in fewer contracted providers for a similar volume of care compared to the previous contract cycle. This implies that provision of specialized care has become concentrated at fewer providers. It is too early to draw firm conclusions on the impact on care quality or on actors, but the process has sparked debate on the role of selective contracting and the role of public and private providers in Estonian health care. Lastly, the Estonian experience may hold important lessons for other countries looking to overcome inequalities in access while concentrating care and improving care quality.     

“十二五”期间深化医药卫生体制改革规划述评

国务院颁布的《＂十二五＂期间深化医药卫生体制改革规划暨实施方案》紧密围绕2009年《中共中央国务院关于深化医药卫生体制改革的意见》精神,部署了今后四年我国深化医药卫生体制改革的具体任务和重点工作。《规划》为缩短我国卫生事业与经济发展的差距奠定了坚实的基础。     

A policy of introducing a new contract and funding system of general practice in Estonia

The socialist bloc of post-war Europe was obliged to follow the Soviet example with a hierarchical, centrally controlled health care system based on polyclinics and other facilities providing extensive specialist services at the first level of contact. All the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have now expressed their wish to totally change their health care systems. Changes in these countries include: the introduction of market economy mechanisms in health care, an increased focus on population health needs in guiding health care systems, and the possibility of introducing a more general type of care at primary level. Patient expectations of access, choice and convenience are factors in shaping new models of health care delivery. Appropriate timing is the key determinant of the success of reforms. In Estonia the beginning of the 1990s was the time when several interest groups in society supported changes in the health care system. The first step after regaining independence was the reintroduction of a Bismarck-type insurance system. In the late 1990s the primary care reforms have changed the initial plans and elements of a National Health Service were introduced, especially general practitioners' lists, capitation payment and gate-keeping principles. The family medicine reform in Estonia has two main objectives: introduction of general practice as a specialty into Estonian health care and changing the remuneration system of primary care doctors. The specific tasks are: to provide practising primary care doctors with opportunities for retraining to gain the specialty status of a general practitioner, to create a list system for the population to register with a primary care doctor, to introduce a partial gate-keeping system and to give the status of the independent contractor to primary care doctors.     

Quality of care in decentralized primary care clinics: a conceptual framework

In an attempt to provide high quality medical care, despite limited resources, health care providers in various countries have introduced decentralization into their health care services. It has been assumed that the delegation of authority to the local levels of the organization will enhance their ability to respond to local needs, and improve cost containment without compromising the quality of care. However, to date, few empirical studies have explored the relationship between decentralization and such projected outcomes. In this article we present a conceptual framework for analyzing possible consequences of decentralization on dimensions of quality of primary health care. We also suggest a framework for defining decentralization programs by their key components, and employ these frameworks to analyze a specific decentralization program being implemented in Israel's largest health maintenance organization (HMO). While we identify the dimensions most likely to be affected, we also conclude that data presently available do not permit a definitive prediction of whether the overall effect of decentralization on quality of care will be positive or negative. The potential reaction of a unit to the elements of change introduced by a decentralization program is influenced by the structural, cultural and management characteristics of that unit. Therefore, future attempts to decentralize health care organizations should be accompanied by close monitoring.