An innovative approach to participatory health policy development in Bulgaria: The conception and first achievements of the Partnership for Health

The Bulgarian Partnership for Health was established in 2015 as a new forum for health policy formulation and discussion. The Partnership presents a new approach of structured and sustained stakeholder involvement to overcome the lack of public participation in health policy development and implementation. Constituted as a permanent consultative body to the Council of Ministers, the Partnership engages a wide variety of stakeholders and professionals to shape and improve health policies. The shared governance of the Partnership between the Minister of Health and a patient organisation supports the elaboration of legislative acts based on the stakeholders' collaboration in priority areas. The governance and organisational structure of the Partnership assures capacity building, fast mobilisation of experts, continuity of stakeholder involvement, and increased responsibility in health policy development and implementation. This type of participatory approach may help reconcile initially opposing positions and foster reforms often impeded by political antagonism. Persisting challenges are a rather slow process of policy development and different perceptions of key concepts among the stakeholders. As policy-making in many countries in Eastern Europe suffers from political distrust, the Partnership's approach of involving experts - and not only politicians - could provide inspiration also to other countries, which have struggled with inconsistency of health policies pursued by different governments.     

Health workforce governance in Italy

More precise health workforce governance has become a prominent issue in healthcare systems. This issue is particularly important in Italy, given its strongly doctor-centered healthcare system and the dramatic aging of its physicians’ labor force. Using different sources of information (statistical data, official planning documents and interviews with key informants), the article attempts to answer two questions. Why has the Italian healthcare systems found itself in the situation of a potential drastic reduction in the amount of doctors in the medium term without a rebalancing through a different mix of skills and professionals? How good is the capacity of the Italian healthcare system to plan healthcare workforce needs? The widespread presence of ‘older’ physicians is the result of the strong entry of doctors into the Italian healthcare system in the 1970s and 1980s. Institutional fragmentation, difficulties in drafting broad healthcare reforms, political instability and austerity measures explain why Italian health workforce forecasting and planning are still unsatisfactory, although recent developments indicate that changes are under way. In order to tackle these problems it is necessary to foster closer cooperation among a wide range of stakeholders, to move from uni-professional to multi-professional health workforce planning, and to partially re-centralise decision making.     

What have health care reforms achieved in Turkey? An appraisal of the “Health Transformation Programme”

Poor health status indicators, low quality care, inequity in the access to health services and inefficiency due to fragmented health financing and provision have long been problems in Turkey's health system. To address these problems a radical reform process known as the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) was initiated in 2003.The health sector reforms in Turkey are considered to have been among the most successful of middle-income countries undergoing reform. Numerous articles have been published that review these reforms in terms of, variously, financial sustainability, efficiency, equity and quality. Evidence suggests that Turkey has indeed made significant progress, yet these achievements are uneven among its regions, and their long-term financial sustainability is unresolved due to structural problems in employment. As yet, there is no comprehensive evidence-based analysis of how far the stated reform objectives have been achieved. This article reviews the empirical evidence regarding the outcomes of the HTP during 10 years of its implementation.Strengthening the strategic purchasing function of the Social Security Institution (SSI) should be a priority. Overall performance can be improved by linking resource allocation to provider performance. More emphasis on prevention rather than treatment, with an effective referral chain, can also bring better outcomes, greater efficiency gains and contribute to sustainability.     

Primary care workforce development in Europe: An overview of health system responses and stakeholder views

Better primary care has become a key strategy for reforming health systems to respond effectively to increases in non-communicable diseases and changing population needs, yet the primary care workforce has received very little attention. This article aligns primary care policy and workforce development in European countries. The aim is to provide a comparative overview of the governance of workforce innovation and the views of the main stakeholders. Cross-country comparisons and an explorative case study design are applied. We combine material from different European projects to analyse health system responses to changing primary care workforce needs, transformations in the general practitioner workforce and patient views on workforce changes. The results reveal a lack of alignment between primary care reform policies and workforce policies and high variation in the governance of primary care workforce innovation. Transformations in the general practitioner workforce only partly follow changing population needs; countries vary considerably in supporting and achieving the goals of integration and community orientation. Yet patients who have experienced task shifting in their care express overall positive views on new models. In conclusion, synthesising available evidence from different projects contributes new knowledge on policy levers and reveals an urgent need for health system leadership in developing an integrated people-centred primary care workforce.     

A strife of interests: A qualitative study on the challenges facing oral health workforce policy and planning

Oral health workforce policy has often lacked systematic connections with broader health policy, and system-based reforms that would enable more effective responses to future needs of the population. The aim of the study was to better understand challenges facing oral health workforce policy and planning and identify potential solutions. In-depth interviews of 23 senior oral health leaders and/or health policy experts from 15 countries were conducted in 2016-17. Grounded theory principles using the Straussian school of thought guided the qualitative analysis. The findings identified: (i) narrow approach towards dental education, (ii) imbalances in skills, jobs and competencies, and (iii) geographic maldistribution as major challenges. An overarching theme -“strife of interests” - shed light on the tension between the profession's interest, and the needs of the population. A key aspect was the clash for power, dominance and authority within the oral health workforce and across health professions. This study argues that appreciating the history of health professions and recognising the centrality of the strife of interests is necessary in developing policies that both address professional sensitivities and are in line with the needs of the population. Integration and closer collaboration of oral health professionals with the mainstream medical and health professions has emerged as the key issue, but the solutions will be diverse and dependent on country- or context-specific scenarios.     

The health workforce crisis in TB control: a report from high-burden countries

Human resources are the most important assets of any health system, and health workforce problems have for decades limited the efficiency and quality of Latin America health systems. World Bank-led reforms aimed at increasing equity, efficiency, quality of care and user satisfaction did not attempt to resolve the human resources problems that had been identified in multiple health sector assessments. However, the two most important reform policies – decentralization and privatization – have had a negative impact on the conditions of employment and prompted opposition from organized professionals and unions. In several countries of the region, the workforce became the most important obstacle to successful reform.     

金砖国家卫生外交政策及其参与全球卫生治理的经验

全球化进程使各国将全球卫生治理作为重要战略关切,作为新兴国家代表的巴西、俄罗斯、印度、中国、南非这五个金砖国家(BRICS)在全球卫生治理领域发挥着日益重要的作用。本文比较和分析了金砖国家的卫生外交政策及其参与全球卫生治理的行动,总结了金砖国家参与全球卫生治理的特点及可供中国借鉴的经验,同时提出了作为多边合作机制的金砖国家在全球卫生领域中所面临的挑战。     

Medical workforce education and training: A failed decentralisation attempt to reform organisation,financing, and planning in England

The 2010–2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government proposed introducing a radical decentralisation reform of the organisation, financing, and planning of medical workforce education and training in England. However, following public deliberation and parliamentary scrutiny of the government's proposals, it had to abandon and alter its original proposals to the extent that they failed to achieve their original decentralisation objectives. This failed decentralisation attempt provides important lessons about the policy process and content of both workforce governance and health system reforms in Europe and beyond. The organisation, financing, and planning of medical workforce education is as an issue of national importance and should remain in the stewardship of the national government. Future reform efforts seeking to enhance the skills of the workforce needed to deliver high-quality care for patients in the 21st century will have a greater chance of succeeding if they are clearly articulated through engagement with stakeholders, and focus on the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate multi-professional education and training in universities and teaching hospitals.     

Planning of Polish physician workforce – Systemic inconsistencies,challenges and possible ways forward

BackgroundPoland has the lowest number of physicians per 1000 population (2.2/1000) in the EU. This is accompanied by a considerable migration rate of Polish physicians to other EU countries (estimated at above 7%). Among other consequences, this results in waiting lists and unmet health needs.ObjectiveThe aim of this article is an identification of the main challenges for physician workforce planning in Poland.MethodsThe authors analysed national and international documents, reports, official statements, publications and statistical databases.Main findingsIn Poland health workforce planning is inadequate and insufficient. There is no formal structure and no strategy regarding human resource planning or regular forecasts for the health workforce, which results in many negative effects for the healthcare system. Currently the shortage of physicians in some specialties is becoming one of the most important reasons for limited access to care and lengthening the average wait time.ConclusionsTo improve this situation operational and strategic actions should be undertaken without unnecessary delay. Effective and close cooperation between key stakeholders is needed. Health workforce planning needs to become one of the key building blocks of the Polish health system’s reforms, strongly connected to the other functions of the health system. It is essential for Poland to follow available good practices in health workforce planning.     

非政府组织在全球健康治理中的作用研究

全球健康体系正在经历变革和更新,从而带来全球健康参与者的重大转变。非政府组织(Nongovernmental organization,NGO)作为全球健康体系中的一个关键参与者和决策者,具有全球健康治理的丰富经验,可以为中国参与全球健康决策与治理提供系统性的经验。本文旨在研究NGO在全球健康领域中的作用。结果发现,NGO在全球健康领域中的作用可以总结为四个方面:倡导、实施、支持和社区动员,但同时NGO也会给全球健康治理带来一些潜在的风险,如某些NGO所代表的国外组织或政府的利益和本国利益产生冲突;NGO组织可能会吸引当地卫生官员和技术人员加入,从而削弱了本国卫生人力和卫生体系;捐助者驱动的资助模式可能不能完全用于国家健康需要的优先领域。中国和中国NGO在借鉴经验的同时,也要合理规避这些风险。     

Why we need multi-level health workforce governance: Case studies from nursing and medicine in Germany

Health workforce needs have moved up on the reform agendas, but policymaking often remains ‘piece-meal work’ and does not respond to the complexity of health workforce challenges. This article argues for innovation in healthcare governance as a key to greater sustainability of health human resources. The aim is to develop a multi-level approach that helps to identify gaps in governance and improve policy interventions. Pilot research into nursing and medicine in Germany, carried out between 2013 and 2015 using a qualitative methodology, serves to illustrate systems-based governance weaknesses. Three explorative cases address major responses to health workforce shortages, comprising migration/mobility of nurses, reform of nursing education, and gender-sensitive work management of hospital doctors. The findings illustrate a lack of connections between transnational/EU and organizational governance, between national and local levels, occupational and sector governance, and organizations/hospital management and professional development. Consequently, innovations in the health workforce need a multi-level governance approach to get transformative potential and help closing the existing gaps in governance.     

“Yes They are Listening but Do They Hear Us?” Reflections on the Journey of the Barnardo's Participation Project

The Barnardo's Participation Project, previously known as the Disabled Children and Young People's Participation Project, was established by Barnardo's (Northern Ireland) in 2002. The aim of the Project was to develop ways of involving children and young people with disabilities in decision-making in relation to health and social care and children's services planning processes. Since its inception, hundreds of children and young people, with a range of physical and learning disabilities, sensory impairments and autism as well as life-limiting conditions, have participated in the Project. This paper describes how the Project has evolved over the years in response to emerging issues identified by the members as well as the demands of changing organisational and political contexts. Reflecting on the journey of the Project, the paper identifies the factors that contribute to successful participation practice and the challenges to participatory practice in recent years. As the title of this article suggests, the Project has found that children and young people with disabilities are skilled in recognising the difference between tokenistic consultation and meaningful participation. Within policy there is a strong emphasis on service user involvement; however, the principles of good participation practice require specific knowledge and attention. Good participation practice requires policy-makers and professionals to realign themselves with the rights of children and young people to have their say. The value of true, meaningful participation is evidenced by seeking and acting on their views about issues that affect their lives.     

全球最有效率的医疗卫生体系如何应对挑战?——香港特别行政区的医疗管理体制、医疗改革举措及对内地的启示

我国医药卫生体制改革取得了有目共睹的成绩,在深化医改的过程中,可以更多参考借鉴其他华人社会的成功经验并汲取其教训。香港特别行政区的医疗卫生体系蜚声国际,高居"全球最有效率卫生体系"之冠。本文主要评析香港特区的医疗管理体制,遇到的挑战,以及近年来的重要医改举措,并总结其对内地医改的启示。香港的医疗卫生治理结构充分实现了"管办分开",解决了"九龙治水"问题,医管局管理体制具有较高的效率和专业性。但是香港特区医疗系统也面临诸多挑战,特区政府近年来推行了自愿医保、公私营协作计划、长者医疗券等若干医改政策,其中许多改革理念和政策工具可供内地医改借鉴。     

老龄化背景下日本医保体系与卫生体系的协同变革与启示

少子老龄化是我国学术界和政策制定者共同关注的问题,少子老龄化带来的健康需求、疾病谱的变化以及代际失衡问题,对医疗保险筹资和服务提供模式提出了新的要求和挑战。20世纪90年代以来,日本面临少子老龄化和经济低迷的双重挑战,一直在进行卫生服务提供和社会保障制度改革,本文将系统梳理日本医疗保障应对老龄化的改革历程,根据世界卫生组织的卫生系统框架和协同理论,从政府治理、多层次保障、筹资与支付、基金预算与卫生资源、整合型服务等方面总结日本医疗保障和卫生体系的变革给我国带来的启示,为我国完善卫生服务和医疗保障体系,走向健康老龄化提供参考。     

The shift from inpatient care to outpatient care in Switzerland since 2017: Policy processes and the role of evidence

The shift from inpatient care to the ambulatory sector is a central aspiration of European health systems. Despite demonstrated benefits, health reforms have struggled to realize their potential. In this context, we discuss recent hospital sector reforms in Switzerland and analyze the content, process, and role of evidence in the recent introduction of policies to substitute inpatient care with ambulatory care. The prevailing payment system incentivized hospitals to provide unnecessary and costly inpatient services, but federal reform on tariff structures was deemed politically unfeasible. Instead, driven by the pressure to contain costs, cantonal and federal health authorities began to deny reimbursement for selected inpatient procedures in 2017. These regulatory measures were effective in reducing inpatient admissions and health care costs. This case study illustrates that clear, simple messages about hospital sector reform can raise awareness of the need for change. However, the evidence used in the policy process was limited and not critically reviewed. Stakeholders used long-standing international comparisons of inpatient substitution potential to legitimize policies, but not to develop them. The analysis restates the importance of inter- and intranational comparative analyses and institutions such as health observatories and suggests aligning health system governance more proactively with international developments.     

Health workforce governance: Processes,tools and actors towards a competent workforce for integrated health services delivery

A competent health workforce is a vital resource for health services delivery, dictating the extent to which services are capable of responding to health needs. In the context of the changing health landscape, an integrated approach to service provision has taken precedence. For this, strengthening health workforce competencies is an imperative, and doing so in practice hinges on the oversight and steering function of governance. To aid health system stewards in their governing role, this review seeks to provide an overview of processes, tools and actors for strengthening health workforce competencies. It draws from a purposive and multidisciplinary review of literature, expert opinion and country initiatives across the WHO European Region's 53 Member States. Through our analysis, we observe distinct yet complementary roles can be differentiated between health services delivery and the health system. This understanding is a necessary prerequisite to gain deeper insight into the specificities for strengthening health workforce competencies in order for governance to rightly create the institutional environment called for to foster alignment. Differentiating between the contribution of health services and the health system in the strengthening of health workforce competencies is an important distinction for achieving and sustaining health improvement goals.     

Remodeling pharmaceutical care in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) amidst human resources challenges and the HIV/AIDS pandemic

Pharmaceutical care, meant to complement a proper drug supply system, is a key component of a robust health care system and is the direct, responsible provision of medication‐related care designed to achieve definite outcomes that improve a patient's quality of life. Beyond simply dispensing medicine, pharmaceutical care promotes adherence to therapeutic regimens and addresses problems such as overdosage, sub‐therapeutic dosage, adverse drug reactions, medication errors, and untreated indications. The dearth of health care workers trained in pharmaceutical care coupled with inadequate access to medications creates multiple disease management challenges in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), which has 25% of the world's disease burden but only 1.3% of the world's health workforce. To prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, and other maladies, the need is urgent to train and integrate the contributions of current workers who handle medications for major and minor health problems, especially those in licensed pharmacies and drug shops. On the aggregate in SSA, pharmaceutical care is in a nascent stage in most countries but needs to grow as a discipline as well as be tailored to specific country needs. The SSA solution lies in establishing health care system components where cadres of workers engage in pharmaceutical care practices, as well as store and distribute medications. Curriculum changes in pre‐service education, more continuing education for the health workforce in place, and training pharmacists to supervise a lower cadre of assistants and others are among the elements in a pharmaceutical care paradigm shift which is the focus of this article. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Too many and too few: The paradoxical case of physicians in the Russian Federation

There is a paradox characterising the Russian health workforce. By international standards, Russia has a very high number of physicians per capita but at the same time is confronted by chronic real shortages of qualified physicians. This paper explores the reasons for this paradox by examining the structural characteristics of health workforce development in the context of the Soviet legacy and the comparative performance of other European countries. The paper uses data on comparative health workforce dynamics to argue that Russia is a European laggard, before then evaluating recent and current policies within that context. The health workforce challenges facing all low‐ and middle‐income countries are acute, and this paper confirms this IS the case for Russia—Europe's largest country. The paper argues that the physician shortage is driven by the model of health workforce development inherited from the Soviet period, with its emphasis on quantitative rather than structural indicators. We find that, in contrast to most European Union countries, Russia's stalled reform process leaves it facing a chronic shortage of appropriately trained physicians. We document the costs of failed and slow reforms during the last 2 decades, while cautiously welcoming some recent policy initiatives.     

Gestión de los recursos humanos y estrategias de vacunación en atención primaria en Europa en la pandemia COVID-19

This article describes the management of human resource and the vaccination strategies in primary care in twelve European countries in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. All the countries have found solutions to increase their workforce in primary care. Other healthcare professionals were incorporated to support family doctors assuming their tasks, under their supervision and coordination. The European Commission had a crucial role in the production, purchase and distribution of the vaccines. The engagement of primary care in the vaccination campaign has had an unequal participation in the different countries, although the greatest burden has been managed from the government's public health departments.