Health system
In contrast, in other regions, a collaborative endeavor exists among governmental entities, labor unions, philanthropic organizations, religious institutions, or other organized bodies, aimed at the meticulous provision of healthcare services tailored to the specific needs of their respective populations.
[2][3] As with other social institutional structures, health systems are likely to reflect the history, culture and economics of the states in which they evolve.
Progress towards them depends on how systems carry out four vital functions: provision of health care services, resource generation, financing, and stewardship.
[citation needed] Through the calculation of the comprehensive cost of healthcare expenditures, it becomes feasible to construct a standard financial framework, which may involve mechanisms like monthly premiums or annual taxes.
Typically, the administration of these benefits is overseen by a government agency, a nonprofit health fund, or a commercial corporation.
[12] Many commercial health insurers control their costs by restricting the benefits provided, by such means as deductibles, copayments, co-insurance, policy exclusions, and total coverage limits.
[citation needed] In addition to these traditional health care financing methods, some lower income countries and development partners are also implementing non-traditional or innovative financing mechanisms for scaling up delivery and sustainability of health care,[13] such as micro-contributions, public-private partnerships, and market-based financial transaction taxes.
[14] In most countries, wage costs for healthcare practitioners are estimated to represent between 65% and 80% of renewable health system expenditures.
[17] There are two ways to set fee levels:[17] In capitation payment systems, GPs are paid for each patient on their "list", usually with adjustments for factors such as age and gender.
"[17] According to OECD, "capitation systems allow funders to control the overall level of primary health expenditures, and the allocation of funding among GPs is determined by patient registrations".
Freedom of consumer choice over doctors, coupled with the principle of "money following the patient" may moderate some of these risks.
'[citation needed] In several OECD countries, general practitioners (GPs) are employed on salaries for the government.
[17] According to OECD, "Salary arrangements allow funders to control primary care costs directly; however, they may lead to under-provision of services (to ease workloads), excessive referrals to secondary providers and lack of attention to the preferences of patients.
The kinds of health data processed may include patients' medical records, hospital administration and clinical functions, and human resources information.
The population in question can be as small as a handful of people, or as large as all the inhabitants of several continents (for instance, in the case of a pandemic).
[citation needed] The rapid emergence of many chronic diseases, which require costly long-term care and treatment, is making many health managers and policy makers re-examine their healthcare delivery practices.
A controversial aspect of public health is the control of tobacco smoking, linked to cancer and other chronic illnesses.
[29] The Lancet Global Health Commission's 2018 framework builds upon earlier models by emphasizing system foundations, processes, and outcomes, guided by principles of efficiency, resilience, equity, and people-centeredness.
This comprehensive approach addresses challenges associated with chronic and complex conditions and is particularly influential in health services research in developing countries.
[31] An increasing number of tools and guidelines are being published by international agencies and development partners to assist health system decision-makers to monitor and assess health systems strengthening[32] including human resources development[33] using standard definitions, indicators and measures.
Recognizing the diversity of stakeholders and complexity of health systems is crucial to ensure that evidence-based guidelines are tested with requisite humility and without a rigid adherence to models dominated by a limited number of disciplines.
[36] HPSR focuses on low- and middle-income countries and draws on the relativist social science paradigm which recognises that all phenomena are constructed through human behaviour and interpretation.
There have been several debates around the results of this WHO exercise,[43] and especially based on the country ranking linked to it,[44] insofar as it appeared to depend mostly on the choice of the retained indicators.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, this percentage jumped to 18.8% in 2020, largely due to increased health care costs and economic contraction.
