The impact of artificial intelligence on the person-centred, doctor-patient relationship: some problems and solutions

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often cited as a possible solution to current issues faced by healthcare systems. This includes the freeing up of time for doctors and facilitating person-centred doctor-patient relationships. However, given the novelty of artificial intelligence tools, there is very little concrete evidence on their impact on the doctor-patient relationship or on how to ensure that they are implemented in a way which is beneficial for person-centred care. Given the importance of empathy and compassion in the practice of person-centred care, we conducted a literature review to explore how AI impacts these two values. Besides empathy and compassion ...

WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care: annual report 2022

This report describes the activities of the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care in 2022. The Centre accelerated face-to-face country support after the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to support countries in engaging in analysis and diagnosis, developing strategies and policies, building capacity and tracking implementation progress and impact. The Centre delivered intensive support in the countries of the Universal Health Coverage Partnership. The Centre continued to develop policy guidance, publish good practices, have capacity-building activities and policy dialogues and solidified its signature product Let’s Talk Primary Health Care talk show platform. The highlight of 2022 was the ...

Patient-centered care and geriatric knowledge translation among healthcare providers in Vietnam: translation and validation of the patient-centered care measure

People are living longer, and the majority of aging people reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, inappropriate healthcare contributes to health disparities between populations of aging people and leads to care dependency and social isolation. Tools to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of quality improvement interventions for geriatric care in LMICs are limited. The aim of this study was to provide a validated and culturally relevant instrument to assess patient-centered care in Vietnam, where the population of aging people is growing rapidly.

Primary Care for Everyone: An Urgent To-Do List for Reform

Worldwide, the health systems with the best outcomes are the ones that get primary care right. Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments are recognizing the critical importance of improving primary care in their recent funding agreements.

The time for bold action is now. New federal funding is entering the system as bilateral agreements are being signed with provinces and territories. “Family health” is front and centre, with all levels of government and people across the country on the same page. It’s time to supercharge the reform.

The Public Policy Forum’s Taking Back Health Care project is a ...

Universal health coverage evolution, ongoing trend, and future challenge: A conceptual and historical policy review

The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) from the United Nations (UN) has metamorphized from its early phase of primary health care (PHC) to the recent sustainable development goal (SDG). In this context, we aimed to document theoretical and philosophical efforts, historical analysis, financial and political aspects in various eras, and an assessment of coverage during those eras in relation to UHC in a global scenario. Searching with broad keywords circumadjacent to UHC with scope and inter-disciplinary linkages in conceptual analysis, we further narrated the review with the historical development of UHC in different time periods. We proposed, chronologically, these ...

Primary healthcare competencies needed in the management of person-centred integrated care for chronic illness and multimorbidity: Results of a scoping review

Chronic disease management is important in primary care. Disease management programmes focus primarily on the respective diseases. The occurrence of multimorbidity and social problems is addressed to a limited extent. Person-centred integrated care (PC-IC) is an alternative approach, putting the patient at the centre of care. This asks for additional competencies for healthcare professionals involved in the execution of PC-IC. In this scoping review we researched which competencies are necessary for healthcare professionals working in collaborative teams where the focus lies within the concept of PC-IC. We also explored how these competencies can be acquired.

Integrated care for children living with complex care needs: navigating the long and winding road

An increasing number of children are living with complex care needs resulting from multiple concurrent conditions. Due to these conditions, various health problems can arise and necessitate screening, prevention, and treatment at different ages during childhood. Each child has an individual constellation and combination of health problems, which implies that multiple health and social care providers across various sectors are required to address these health problems.

Regional technical meeting on integrated care delivery

This report summarizes the discussion that took place during the Regional technical meeting on integrated care delivery. It represents a continuation of the discussion held as part of the Regional technical meeting on strengthening the integrated delivery of long-term care in the European region, in December 2021, bringing an expanded focus on integration as a transversal issue for health and long-term care systems and an important stepping stone for achieving universal health coverage. Participants discussed and shared evidence and lessons learned on the principles, the practice, the enablers and on-going challenges to improving coordination within and across health and long-term ...

Lessons learnt while integrating services for children: qualitative interviews with professional stakeholders

In the English NHS, integrated care is seen as an opportunity to deliver joined-up care for children and families. This paper examines the lessons learnt by professional stakeholders in the process of developing different examples of integrated models of care/frameworks for children’s services.

Integrating Health and Care for Older People in China: What Has Been Accomplished? What is Next?

In China, in addition to its rapid ageing process and large older population, the incidence of chronic disease and disability in the elderly is astonishingly high. Among the 267 million people aged 60 and over in 2021, there were about 190 million people with at least one chronic disease and 40 million living with disability [1]. This has created a huge challenge for the world’s most populous country which is also a middle-income economy in caring for its senior citizens. In response to the complex needs of the elderly and drawing from international experience, China has adopted an active ...