Primary Care Physicians In Ten Countries Report Challenges Caring For Patients With Complex Health Needs

A compelling article that explores some of the current challenges facing the integration of primary care within the health systems of 10 high income countries. The data comes from the 18^th annual Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians which was completed in 2015 in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. While primary care physicians reported being well prepared for multiple chronic medical conditions, several health areas such as mental health and addiction were noted for being weak points for providers. A frequent challenge was a lack of communication with other parts of the health care system as well as with social services although there was significant variation between countries. An important finding of the study was “that having an electronic health record does not ensure electronic flow of information with doctors outside of one ...

Healthy China : deepening health reform in China building high-quality and value-based service delivery

As many other countries, China faces big challenges to meet the health care needs of her citizens, associated with a rapidly aging society and increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Also, health costs have been growing at a rate higher than GDP growth since 2008.

Since the launch of health reform in 2009, China has invested significantly in health infrastructure at the grassroots level and made progress in building the primary care doctors system. Basic public health services capacity has been significantly enhanced. China is progressing quickly to achieving universal health coverage and some of the reform achievements have attracted worldwide attention.

The reform commanded many innovative pilots in health financing and service delivery at the local level and provided a strong foundation for the next stage of reform. This report aim to support China during this reform phase by recommending 8 sets of strategic reform directions, referred to as ...

Regional organisations supporting health sector responses to climate change in Southeast Asia

The role played by regional organisations in climate change adaptation and health is growing in Southeast Asia, with the Asian Development Bank and the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Health and Environment both supporting health and adaptation initiatives. There is, however, a lack of empirical research on the value that regional organisations add to national health-related adaptation. This qualitative research compares regional project and governance-based models of adaptation and health support in Southeast Asia, providing an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of each, as well as possibilities for improvement.

Integrated care in a Beveridge system: experiences from England and Denmark

Health systems internationally face demands to deliver care that is better coordinated and integrated. The health system financing and delivery model may go some, but not all the way in explaining health system fragmentation. In this paper, we consider the road to care integration in two countries with Beveridge style health systems, England and Denmark, that are both ranked as highly Integrated systems in Toth's health integration index. We use the SELFIE framework to compare the policies and reforms that have affected care integration over the past 30 years in the two countries. The countries both started their reform path by reforming to introduce choice and competition, but did so in different ways that set them on different pathways. Nevertheless, after two decades, the countries ended the period with largely similar structures that emphasised the creation of a cross-sectoral governance structure. In the relatively centralised England, by introducing decentralised ...