Demand management and integrated delivery systems : The case of primary healthcare services in Greece
Part of : Αρχείον οικονομικής ιστορίας ; Vol.XVIII, No.2, 2006, pages 45-65
Issue:
Pages:
45-65
Author:
Abstract:
Health Care services have undergone through major changes during the last 20 years in the US and Europe, primarily due to rising costs of healthcare, unrealistic public policies and mismanagement of resources available. In this paper we describe the structure and the characteristics of the healthcare services system in Greece and assess the policies that are applied by Public Health Insurance Organizations for such services to be effective. In addition, we present the characteristics of primary healthcare services demand management and compare the case of Greece with that in other countries. Finally, we propose the implementation of an Integrated Delivery System (IDS), which utilizes advanced Information Systems and Communications technology, in order to manage effectively and efficiently the primary healthcare services demand. The implementation of IDS was mainly motivated by the fact that Public Health Insurance Organizations in Greece still are not capable to intervene and/or control primary healthcare services demand. The proposed IDS system uses principles and tools from the field of Information Resources Planning and is adapted to Greece’s Health Insurance public strategy and policy.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
Primary Health Care, Demand Management, IDS, Health Economics
Notes:
JEL classification: I10, I18, I11.
