Social franchising of TB care through private GPs in Myanmar: an assessment of treatment results, access, equity and financial protection

This article assesses whether social franchising of tuberculosis (TB) services in Myanmar has succeeded in providing quality treatment while ensuring equity in access and financial protection for poor patients. Newly diagnosed TB patients receiving treatment from private general practitioners (GPs) belonging to the franchise were identified. They were interviewed about social conditions, health seeking and health care costs at the time of starting treatment and again after 6 months follow-up. Routine data were used to ascertain clinical outcomes as well as to monitor trends in case notification. The franchisees contributed 2097 (21%) of the total 9951 total new sputum smear-positive pulmonary cases notified to the national TB programme in the study townships. The treatment success rate for new smear-positive cases was 84%, close to the World Health Organization target of 85% and similar to the treatment success of 81% in the national TB programme in Myanmar. People from the lower socio-economic groups represented 68% of the TB patients who access care in the franchise. Financial burden related to direct and indirect health care costs for tuberculosis was high, especially among the poor. Patients belonging to lower socio-economic groups incurred on average costs equivalent to 68% of annual per capita household income, with a median of 28%. However, 83% of all costs were incurred before starting treatment in the franchise, while 'shopping' for care. During treatment in the franchise, the cost of care was relatively low, corresponding to a median proportion of annual per capita income of 3% for people from lower socio-economic groups. This study shows that highly subsidized TB care delivered through a social franchise scheme in the private sector in Myanmar helped reach the poor with quality services, while partly protecting them from high health care expenditure. Extended outreach to others parts of the private sector may reduce diagnostic delay and patient costs further.     

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.     

Payment systems and incentives in primary care: implications of recent reforms in Estonia and Romania

Since the early 1990s, major reform in healthcare has been adopted in former communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe. More than 20 years after, reform in healthcare still draws much interest from policy makers and academics alike. One of the dynamic components of reform has been the reform of payment systems in primary care. This article looks at recent developments in payment systems and financial incentives in Estonia and Romania. We conclude that finding the appropriate mix in paying and incentivizing primary care providers in a transitional context is no easy solution for healthcare policy makers who need to carefully weigh in the advantages and inherent problems of various payment arrangements. In a transitional, rapidly changing healthcare system and society, and a context of financial stringency, the theoretical effects of payment mechanisms may be more difficult to predict and manage than it is expected. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of primary health care reform in Estonia

Estonia began to reform its health care system by reorganizing primary health care (PHC). Ten years ago, the health care system was inefficient, supply was biased towards institutional care, and PHC was almost non-existent in the western understanding: it was provided by different specialists in policlinics, and the financial basis of the system was in crisis. The reform had the following aims: to develop PHC by introducing family medicine, to guarantee the whole population access to family doctors' services, and to secure stable funding for these services. In 1998, a new phase in the reform was introduced through the creation of a new funding system for primary care services. The aim of this paper is to present a practically applicable set of indicators to evaluate PHC reform in terms of health economics criteria and then to apply these indicators in evaluation of the Estonian PHC reform.     

新型农村合作医疗保护农民免于疾病经济风险效果评价

应用新型农村合作医疗对保护农民免于疾病经济风险评价方法,对山东省某试点县实施新型农村合作医疗的效果进行评价。结果表明,我国农村地区有很多家庭因为家庭卫生支出而陷入贫困或灾难。样本地区因家庭卫生支出导致贫困的发生率为5.20%,灾难性卫生支出的发生率为9.58%。新型农村合作医疗对保护农民家庭免于因疾病导致的经济风险起到了一定的作用,但这种保护作用是有限的。被调查地区新型农村合作医疗使灾难性卫生支出下降了8.14%,使因卫生支出导致的贫困发生率降低了19.81%。模拟分析的结果显示,新型农村合作医疗对保护农民免于疾病经济风险可以发挥更大的作用,这种作用的大小取决于新型农村合作医疗的筹资水平和方案设计。如果报销的比例提高,则更多的家庭会避免陷入灾难性卫生支出或贫困。     

我国卫生改革政策的价值选择:社会公平

文章以卫生公平性理论为基础,分析了我国卫生发展中存在的影响卫生公平的政策、制度和体制机制等问题,认为我国在卫生资源配置、卫生筹资和健康保障制度的建立等方面存在严重的不公平性,从而导致了人群健康的不公平性.为此,提出了在新的医药卫生体制改革中,应该建立基于绩效评价的政府投入机制,合理解决医务人员的待遇,完善村卫生室的管理体制与运行机制,加快卫生立法,以此保证<深化医药卫生体制改革的意见>的落实,实现"人人享有基本医疗卫生服务"目标.     

The 2017 reform to improve financial sustainability of national health insurance in Estonia: Analysis and first lessons on broadening the revenue base

In 2017, the Estonian government addressed the longstanding challenge of financial sustainability of the health system by expanding its revenue base. As a relatively low-spending country on health, Estonia relies predominantly on payroll contributions from the working population, which exposes the system to economic shocks and population ageing. In an effort to reduce these vulnerabilities, Estonia will gradually introduce a government transfer on behalf of pensioners, although long-term sustainability of the health system could still prove challenging as the overall health spending as a percentage of GDP is not expected to substantially increase. Estonia has rolled out the reform according to plan, but it has led to debate about the need to achieve universal population coverage (currently at about 95%). Moreover, the Estonian experience also holds important lessons for other countries looking to reform their health system. For example, policymakers should recognize that reforms require extensive preparation using consistent messaging over a long period of time, also to prevent prioritising short term and popular fixes over structural reforms. Additionally, collaboration between the health and financial ministries throughout the reform increases the buy-in for the reform and likelihood of adoption. Furthermore, health professionals play a significant role in advocacy, and seeking support from this group can smooth the path towards health system reform.     

Receiving healthcare for drug-resistant TB: a cross-sectional survey from Pakistan

OBJECTIVE:To describe and quantify patients’ self-reported experiences of receiving healthcare from Pakistan’s Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (PMDT) model of care, and to understand these experiences within the broader context of Pakistan’s health system.METHOD:This was a cross-sectional survey of patients attending three PMDT clinics in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan.RESULTS:The median consultation time at the PMDT clinics was 10 minutes. In their most recent visit to the PMDT clinic, 34.9% of patients spent >40% of their monthly income to access treatment. To specify, 71% of patients reported spending out-of-pocket for ancillary medicines and 44.7% for laboratory tests. In 10.5% of cases, medicines for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) were dispensed without the patient attending the clinic. Only 43.7% of treatment supporters regularly accompanied patients to the clinic, and 6% supervised the patient’s intake of medicines. Disbursement of financial support was irregular in 98.6% of cases. Only 6.2% of patients received their daily injections from a public facility, the rest went elsewhere.CONCLUSION:Several shortcomings in PMDT services, including hurried consultations, irregularities in financial support, and gaps in Pakistan’s broader health system undermined healthcare experience of patients with DR-TB. To improve health outcomes and patients’ care experience these service gaps need to be addressed.     

The rising impact of civic activism on health policy: The analysis of the closure of smaller obstetric units in Estonia

In 2017, the Estonian government performed an administrative reform with the promise to keep vital services available for people. In March 2018, the closure of two smaller obstetrics units (OU) was announced, thereby raising resistance by community members. The aim of the research is to identify public perceptions and information needs during the closure process of smaller maternity units, and examine it in the context of recently performed administrative reform. Data was collected from 226 respondents via a web-based questionnaire. To evaluate the level of information seeking activity for pregnancy- and birth-giving-related information, new aggregated index variables were constructed.For authorities and lay-people “near home” and “safety” had different meanings in the context of childbirth. Findings revealed strong correlations between perceived information availability and sufficiency (for pregnancy, birth-giving and transfer to the hospital). The subjective lack of information appeared in recognition of the start of the labour and how, when, and where to go. Respondents considered both the medical capability and personal aspects to be equally important. Considering the lack of knowledge and hesitancy among Estonians, the arguments of civic activists presented in the debate were well-grounded. To conclude, public communication must be consistent and people need clearer instructions for activities related to labour-period and security that necessary features of medical help and personal approach to be both available.     

History of public health research in Estonia: A review

The University of Tartu (which was founded In 1632) and itsDepartment of Public Health (Hygiene) have been the centre ofpublic health research in Estonia. Environmental factors suchas living conditions, water, soil, air and food have been thetraditional topics. The study on blind people and people sufferingfrom eye diseases among the rural population of Livonia conductedby Professor Himmelstiern in 1856–1859 proved to be thefirst epidemlological study in Russia. Professor Körber,a supporter of a statistical approach in research, founded thelocal school of demographers in 1890s. Professor Khlopin's stayin Tartu (1895–1903) was a very fruitful period. He andhis students paid much attention to communal hygiene. ProfessorRammul, the head of the department in 1920–1940, initiatedand supervised an extensive medicogeographical study of overallEstonia. The Second World War and post-war years caused a standstillin research. A revival occurred in the end of 1950s when ProfessorKask returned to the department. After his death (1968), AssociateProfessor Ulbo and Professor Jannus continued his work. Theirmain study areas were concerned with public health aspects ofthe water supply, nutrition of pre-school children and theirprovision with vitamins, work conditions and health risks ofsome occupations. During resent years the area of research hasenlarged to comprise health risks due to lifestyle factors,health economics and health care management topics. After thewar special medical research institutes were established. Theyhave made a considerable contribution to public health researchin Estonia.     

Catastrophic medical payment and financial protection in rural China: evidence from the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in Shandong Province

Objective: To measure the impact of China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) on catastrophic medical payments of rural households in Linyi County, Shandong Province.Method: In 2005, from a stratified cluster sample of 3101 rural households, we identified 375 households that might be at risk of catastrophic payments by searching through NCMS claims and interviewing key informants. We interviewed these 375 households and confirmed that 231 had had catastrophic payments (> or = 40% of the households' capacity to pay; CTP) during 2004. A validity test of our screening method found another eight cases among immediate neighbours of these 375 households; by extrapolation, we obtained an adjusted total of 289 catastrophic households in the sample of 3101. We measured the impact of the NCMS on hardship alleviation by counterfactual analysis, comparing catastrophic payments before and after NCMS reimbursements.Result: The effect was twofold. Before NCMS intervention 8.98% of Linyi population had had catastrophic out-of-pocket payments compared with 8.25% after reimbursements. Catastrophic severity for households remaining in catastrophe after reimbursement dropped by 18.7% to an average of 6.34 times the household's CTP.Conclusion: Out-of-pocket medical payments remain a burden for rural households. Financial protection from the NCMS, with an average reimbursement of 17.8%, was modest and should be restructured to provide better benefits that are targeted to those in most need. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The global financial crisis and health equity: toward a conceptual framework

In this article, we identify pathways that link the global financial crisis to health equity. We distinguish between direct and indirect channels of influence, and develop a conceptual model that builds on the literature analyzing the impacts of globalization on social determinants of health. The most pertinent direct pathways discussed are economic contraction, health budget cutbacks, rise in unemployment, and qualitative transformations of health systems. We also outline how other indirect channels of influence are likely to affect health equity, including cutbacks to welfare programs, labor market transformations, the emergence of an ideological climate conducive to austerity politics, and reductions in official development assistance. We conclude by suggesting that the current intensification of neoliberal policy implementation is likely to undermine health equity, and that a different path toward economic recovery is required to ensure equitable access to health care.     

Informal patient payments in maternity hospitals in Kiev,Ukraine

Maternity care in Ukraine is a government priority. However, it has not undergone substantial changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Similar to the entire health care sector in Ukraine, maternity care suffers from inefficient funding, which results in low quality and poor access to services. The objective of this paper is to explore the practice of informal payments for maternity care in Ukraine, specifically in cases of childbirth in Kiev maternity hospitals. The paper provides an ethnographic study on the consumers' and providers' experiences with informal payments. The results suggest that informal payments for childbirth are an established practice in Kiev maternity hospitals. The bargaining process between the pregnant woman (incl. her partner) and the obstetrician is an important part of the predelivery arrangement, including the informal payment. To deal with informal payments in Kiev maternity hospitals, there is a need for the following: (i) regulation of the “quasi‐official” patient payments at the health care facility level; and (ii) improvement of professional ethics through staff training. These strategies should be coupled with improved governance of the health care sector in general, and maternity care in particular in order to attain international quality standards and adequate access to facilities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Trading off health and financial protection benefits with multiobjective optimization

Countries which are introducing a system of Universal health coverage have to make a number of key tradeoffs, of which one is the tradeoff between the level of coverage and the degree to which patients are exposed to potentially catastrophic financial risk. In this study, we first present a way in which decision makers might be supported to focus on in a particular part of the tradeoff curve and ultimately choose an efficient solution. We then introduce some multiobjective optimization models for generating the tradeoff curves given data about potential treatment numbers, costs, and benefits. Using a dataset from Malawi, we demonstrate the approach and suggest a core index metric to make specific observations on the individual treatments. Moreover, as there has been some debate about the best way to measure financial exposure, we also investigate the extent to sensitivity of our results to the precise technical choice of financial exposure metric. Specifically, we consider two metrics, which are the total number of cases protected from catastrophic expenditure and a convex penalty function that penalizes out‐of‐pocket expenditures in an increasingly growing way, respectively.     

Redistribution or horizontal equity in Hong Kong's mixed public-private health system: a policy conundrum

We examine the distributional characteristics of Hong Kong's mixed public-private health system to identify the net redistribution achieved through public spending on health care, compare the income-related inequality and inequity of public and private care and measure horizontal inequity in health-care delivery overall. Payments for public care are highly concentrated on the better-off whereas benefits are pro-poor. As a consequence, public health care effects significant net redistribution from the rich to the poor. Public care is skewed towards the poor in part not only because of allocation according to need but also because the rich opt out of the public sector and consume most of the private care. Overall, there is horizontal inequity favouring the rich in general outpatient care and (very marginally) inpatient care. Pro-rich bias in the distribution of private care outweighs the pro-poor bias of public care. A lesser role for private finance may improve horizontal equity of utilisation but would also reduce the degree of net redistribution through the public sector.     

会泽县卫生服务利用的公平性研究

目的了解会泽县新型农村合作医疗实施中,参合农民卫生服务利用的公平性,为制订合理的补偿方案提供依据。方法采用分层抽样的方法抽取2个乡镇,共调查农户1209户,计4646人。结果调查农民2周患病率为7.1%,2周患病就诊率为8.7%,均低于第三次全国卫生服务调查农村平均水平。2005年住院率为5.6%,高于全国平均水平(3.4%),不同乡镇和不同家庭经济收入农民门诊服务利用的差异不大,但住院服务存在统计学差异。住院率随收入增加而增高,需住院未住院比例随收入增加而降低。住院机构、次均住院费用和次均住院补偿费用在2个乡镇间有较大差异,而在不同经济收入间无明显差异。结论新型农村合作医疗实施中,应该注意提高卫生服务利用的公平性。     

Collaborating toward equity in Pennsylvania: The Age-Friendly Care,PA project

Objective

To collaboratively implement the age-friendly health systems framework, known as the 4Ms: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility, at The Primary Health Network (PHN), a federally qualified health center.

Data Sources

Data were collected from PHN electronic medical records (EMRs) for individuals over age 65 from December 30, 2019 to December 24, 2021 and from Project ECHO© attendance and evaluation surveys.

Study Design

The telementoring educational program, Project ECHO©, was used to engage PHN health care professionals working in rural areas of Pennsylvania to incorporate the 4Ms into their practice starting with the annual wellness visit (AWV). Project ECHO© was launched at three primary care sites. After 18 months, it was then disseminated to an additional 18 sites creating pilot and comparison groups. Outcomes included codesigned patient process metrics using EMR data and project ECHO© participant data.

Data Collection Methods

EMR data were generated by system reports created by PHN's quality assurance program manager. Project ECHO© data were collected and managed using REDCap electronic data capture tools. Outcomes were aggregated, analyzed for trends over time, and compared between groups.

Principal Findings

All nine process outcomes increased from baseline to follow-up at the three initial sites, ranging from 4% to 43% g. At year two, the three initial sites had higher rates on AWVs (pilot 24%, comparison 12%; p < 0.0001), Advance Care Planning (New on file, pilot 8%, comparison 2%; Discussed with patient, pilot 18%, comparison 13%; Patient declined, pilot 0%, comparison 0%; p = 0.0001), Dementia Screening (pilot 24%, comparison 12%; p < 0.0001), Fall Risk Management (pilot 43%, comparison 10%; p < 0.0001), and Mobility Goal (pilot 19%, comparison 9%; p < 0.0001); and lower rates on High-Risk Medication Elimination (pilot 54%, comparison, 63%, p < 0.02).

Conclusions

Access to high-quality geriatric care for rural older adults can be improved by increasing health care professionals' knowledge of the 4Ms, beginning with its incorporation into the AWV.