Shifting acute care delivery from hospitals to homes in Ireland

Community-based acute care services delivered by mobile nursing teams were introduced by Caredoc, a private nonprofit organization contracted by the Irish Health Services Executive; first-hand insights of providers enabled identification of services delivery challenges and supported development of relevant solutions; supportive senior management generated momentum for change and helped secure necessary approval for activities from authorities; stakeholder engagement was described as time consuming, but crucial to success; electronic medical records and new technologies facilitated the creation of a simple, connected and user-friendly service; training for nursing staff was important for establishing the necessary clinical competencies to deliver acute care services in home settings.

Developing an integrated e-health system in Estonia

A system-wide electronic health information system was introduced by the government and a national e-health foundation was established to guide change; development of e-health aligned with a broader government information strategy, enabling change and motivating necessary political support; early introduction of legislation provided a clear framework for activities and the Estonian Health Information System Development Plan 2005–2008 mapped out the change process; legislation coupled with aligned incentives encouraged widespread uptake of e-health by providers; partnerships with the private sector, universities and research organizations helped drive innovation; features of the electronic system (including electronic medical records, digital imaging, e-prescriptions and a patient portal) were gradually introduced and use of the system is now mandatory for providers.

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 ...

Public–private partnerships in practice: collaborating to improve health finance policy in Ghana and Kenya

Social health insurance (SHI), one mechanism for achieving universal health coverage, has become increasingly important in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as they work to achieve this goal. Although small private providers supply a significant proportion of healthcare in LMICs, integrating these providers into SHI systems is often challenging. Public–private partnerships in health are one way to address these challenges, but we know little about how these collaborations work, how effectively, and why.