Regardless of the fact that the Croatian Institute for Heath Insurance (HZZO) has not yet defined the figures in this new model of financing in Primary Health Care (PZZ) segment, the majority of participants attending a round table on the primary health care and the public and private partnership in the health care system that was held on June 4, agreed that the new model means a significant and positive shift in the organization of the system. This model covers the strengthening of preventive measures, and further development of the system informatization, along with the improvement in the quality of services.
The budget aimed for the Primary Health Care (PZZ), which means its fifteen fields of activities, amounts to HRK 3.7 billion. It is about one third of the total health care budget. The doctors in the primary health care are expected to solve the majority of cases, which is, according to some sources, even up to four fifths of all cases entering the health care system. Therefore, no wonder, in future, the distribution of the funds should more directly depend on the quality of service provided and the performance of doctors. The introduction of the new model of payment in the primary health care, which will be implemented from 2013 to 2015, will reduce the rate per capita, but shall finance the doctor’s teams and cover their hot stand by status, payment under the new “spectrum of health care services” and key performance and quality indicators, and the preventive measures will be separately recorded, announced at the round table the assistant to the head of the Croatian Institute for Heath Insurance (HZZO in charge of the health care, Ms Dubravka Pezelj-Duliba. The round table titled The Primary Health Care and the Public and Private Partnership in the Health Care System, which was organized by the magazine, Banka, and the Institute of Economics, Zagreb (EIZ). The model will finally enable the grouping of private practices, and the performance and quality of health care at the primary level will be easier to measure by using data from the Central Health Care Information System in Croatia (CEZIH). This would at least, partially solve the unfair situation in which the self-employed doctors, concessionaries, partially have a larger number of patients and at an average ten percent lower pro capita rate than their colleagues in public sector, working in medical centers.
“At any rate, it is important not to cut the funds for primary health care, since their growth is related to the lower rate than the total HZZO expenditures aimed for health care. In addition, last year a share of expenditures for primary health care, in relation to the total expenditures in health care, was already reduced from 19.7 to 16.8 per cent“ pointed out dr. Maja Vehovec from the Institute of Economics in Zagreb (EIZ).
A part of the discussion dealt with the further informatization of the health care system, which means the implementation of eBooking and eReferral functionalities. There were certain objections by some doctors that such a system will reduce their time for patients, and Tihomir Šicel, the director of Sales and marketing for Industry and Society segment in Ericsson Nikola Tesla, replied to them by saying that obviously, work processes that were subject to informatization should be better defined. “Implementation of ICT in the long run means savings, and more time for patients. The experiences so far, from the practice, prove this statement. Any experience that differs form the above, is the result of a wrong approach, which means that the redefinition or improvement are inevitable”, said Mr. Šicel. Ms Sanja Predavec from the Ministry of Health confirmed that the new model of payment will strengthen the prevention segment, which, according to various analyses was almost neglected, by now.
Although this round table from the cycle of analysis of our health care system also showed numerous dissonant judgments, it all went towards a certain positive atmosphere that should enable the improvement of the primary health care. This was also the conclusion of almost all participants, from doctors to patients’ associations. The application of modern ICT solutions means a contribution to the situation, since they eliminate “write-offs” from profitable systems, and as of non-profitable ones, it brings more ethics and communications among stakeholders.
Company Communications Ericsson Nikola Tesla
