From policy to reality: clinical managers' views of the organizational challenges of primary care reform in Portugal

Understanding primary care transformation and implications for ageing populations and health inequalities: a systematic scoping review of new models of primary health care in OECD countries and China

BACKGROUND

Many countries have introduced reforms with the aim of primary care transformation (PCT). Common objectives include meeting service delivery challenges associated with ageing populations and health inequalities. To date, there has been little research comparing PCT internationally. Our aim was to examine PCT and new models of primary care by conducting a systematic scoping review of international literature in order to describe major policy changes including key 'components', impacts of new models of care, and barriers and facilitators to PCT implementation.

METHODS

We undertook a systematic scoping review of international literature on PCT in OECD countries and China (published protocol: https://osf.io/2afym ). Ovid [MEDLINE/Embase/Global Health], CINAHL Plus, and Global Index Medicus were searched (01/01/10 to 28/08/21). Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts with data extraction by a single reviewer. A narrative synthesis of findings followed.

RESULTS

A total of 107 studies from 15 countries were included. The most frequently employed component of PCT was the expansion of multidisciplinary teams (MDT) (46% of studies). The most frequently measured outcome was GP views (27%), with  < 20% measuring patient views or satisfaction. Only three studies evaluated the effects of PCT on ageing populations and 34 (32%) on health inequalities with ambiguous results. For the latter, PCT involving increased primary care access showed positive impacts whilst no benefits were reported for other components. Analysis of 41 studies citing barriers or facilitators to PCT implementation identified leadership, change, resources, and targets as key themes.

CONCLUSIONS

Countries identified in this review have used a range of approaches to PCT with marked heterogeneity in methods of evaluation and mixed findings on impacts. Only a minority of studies described the impacts of PCT on ageing populations, health inequalities, or from the patient perspective. The facilitators and barriers identified may be useful in planning and evaluating future developments in PCT.

Implementation of Digital Monitoring Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Patients With Chronic Diseases: Design Science Approach

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic is straining health systems and disrupting the delivery of health care services, in particular, for older adults and people with chronic conditions, who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this project was to support primary health care provision with a digital health platform that will allow primary care physicians and nurses to remotely manage the care of patients with chronic diseases or COVID-19 infections.

METHODS

For the rapid design and implementation of a digital platform to support primary health care services, we followed the Design Science implementation framework: (1) problem identification and motivation, (2) definition of the objectives aligned with goal-oriented care, (3) artefact design and development based on Scrum, (4) solution demonstration, (5) evaluation, and (6) communication.

RESULTS

The digital platform was developed for the specific objectives of the project and successfully piloted in 3 primary health care centers in the Lisbon Health Region. Health professionals (n=53) were able to remotely manage their first patients safely and thoroughly, with high degrees of satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Although still in the first steps of implementation, its positive uptake, by both health care providers and patients, is a promising result. There were several limitations including the low number of participating health care units. Further research is planned to deploy the platform to many more primary health care centers and evaluate the impact on patient's health related outcomes.

An Incentive-Based Framework for Analyzing the Alignment of Institutional Interventions in the Public Primary Healthcare Sector: The Portuguese Case

Over the years, the Portuguese National Health Service has undergone several reforms to face the challenges posed by internal and external factors on the access to and quality of its health services. One of its most recent reforms addressed the primary healthcare sector, where understanding the incentives behind the actors of the inherent institutional interventions and how they are aligned with the governing health policies is paramount for reformative success. With the purpose of acknowledging the alignment of the primary healthcare sector's institutional interventions from an incentive-based perspective, we propose a framework resting on a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, which was built in cooperation with a panel of decision-making actors from the Portuguese Ministry of Health. In the end, we derive possible policy implications and strategies. This holistic approach highlighted the positive impact of the primary healthcare reform in the upgrade of physical resources and human capital but stressed the geosocial asymmetries and the lack of intra- and inter-sectorial coordination. The proposed framework serves also as a guideline for future primary healthcare reforms, both national- and internationally.

How to develop a sustainable telemedicine service? A Pediatric Telecardiology Service 20 years on - an exploratory study

Background

Telemedicine services are promoting more access to healthcare. Portugal was an early adopter of telemedicine to overcome both its geological barriers and the shortage of healthcare professionals. The Pediatric Cardiology Service (PCS) at Coimbra University Hospital Centre (CHUC) has been using telemedicine to increase access and coverage since 1998. Their Pediatric Telecardiology Service has been daily connecting CHUC with 13 other Portuguese national hospitals, and regularly connecting with Portuguese-speaking African countries, through a teleconsultation platform.

Methods

This study aims at exploring the Pediatric Telecardiology Service’s evolution, through a comprehensive assessment of the PCS’s development, evolution and impact in public health, to better understand the critical factors for implementation and sustainability of telemedicine, in the context of healthcare services digitalization. A case study was performed, with cost-benefit, critical factors and organizational culture assessment. Finally, the Kingdon’s framework helped to understand the implementation and scale-up process and the role of policy-making.

Results

With the total of 32,685 out-patient teleconsultations, growing steadily from 1998 to 2016, the Pediatric Telecardiology Service has reached national and international recognition, being a pioneer and an active promotor of telemedicine. This telemedicine service has saved significant resources, about 1.1 million euros for the health system (e.g. in administrative and logistic costs) and approximately 419 euros per patient (considering an average of 1777 patients per year).

PCS presents a dominant “Clan” culture. The Momentum’s critical factors for telemedicine service implementation enabled us to understand how barriers were overcome (e.g. political forces). Willingness, perseverance and teamwork, allied with partnership with key stakeholders, were the foundation for professionals’ engagement and service networking development. Its positive results, new regulations and the increasing support from the hospital board, set up a window of opportunity to establish a sustainable telemedicine service.

Conclusion

The Pediatric Telecardiology Service enables real-time communication and the sharing of clinical information, overcoming many barriers (from geographical ones to shortage of healthcare professionals), improving access to specialized care both in Portugal and Africa.

Motivation and teamwork, and perseverance, were key for the Pediatric Telecardiology Service to tackle the window of opportunity which created conditions for sustainability.

[Primary health care reform in Portugal, 2005-2018: the future and challenges of coming of age]

In order to reform Portugal's primary health care (PHC), the Ministry of Health planned a change that was launched in 2005 and 2006, and which is still under way today. This article aims to analyze PHC reform in Portugal according to different phases in its development, using Kingdon's multiple streams model to reflect on the evolution in the reform process and its future, from the perspective of a process that seeks to achieve universal access to health. The working methodology was a document and case study with a qualitative approach and evaluative dimensions. The study was based on material on PHC in Portugal, published both in Portugal and elsewhere. Kingdon's multiple streams model was used to explain the actual and contextual development of policies implemented during the PHC reform. Three phases were identified in the reform, each lasting about five years. The first phase, starting in 2005, featured family health units with a voluntary basis. The second phase began in 2010, with the model's consolidation. In the third phase, since 2015 and still under way, the model came of age, benefiting from the end of the financial crisis but still suffering from its effects. The three reform cycles represent three distinct periods with consistency in the coalition that the policymaker was able to establish, in which the windows of opportunity for internally built change were heavily influenced by external factors. The article identifies the contribution by PHC reform to improvement of the Portuguese population's health status.

Priorities and challenges for health leadership and workforce management globally: a rapid review

BACKGROUND

Health systems are complex and continually changing across a variety of contexts and health service levels. The capacities needed by health managers and leaders to respond to current and emerging issues are not yet well understood. Studies to date have been country-specific and have not integrated different international and multi-level insights. This review examines the current and emerging challenges for health leadership and workforce management in diverse contexts and health systems at three structural levels, from the overarching macro (international, national) context to the meso context of organisations through to the micro context of individual healthcare managers.

METHODS

A rapid review of evidence was undertaken using a systematic search of a selected segment of the diverse literature related to health leadership and management. A range of text words, synonyms and subject headings were developed for the major concepts of global health, health service management and health leadership. An explorative review of three electronic databases (MEDLINE®, Pubmed and Scopus) was undertaken to identify the key publication outlets for relevant content between January 2010 to July 2018. A search strategy was then applied to the key journals identified, in addition to hand searching the journals and reference list of relevant papers identified. Inclusion criteria were independently applied to potentially relevant articles by three reviewers. Data were subject to a narrative synthesis to highlight key concepts identified.

RESULTS

Sixty-three articles were included. A set of consistent challenges and emerging trends within healthcare sectors internationally for health leadership and management were represented at the three structural levels. At the macro level these included societal, demographic, historical and cultural factors; at the meso level, human resource management challenges, changing structures and performance measures and intensified management; and at the micro level shifting roles and expectations in the workplace for health care managers.

CONCLUSION

Contemporary challenges and emerging needs of the global health management workforce orient around efficiency-saving, change and human resource management. The role of health managers is evolving and expanding to meet these new priorities. Ensuring contemporary health leaders and managers have the capabilities to respond to the current landscape is critical.

The role of Primary Healthcare in the coordination of Health Care Networks in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Lisbon region, Portugal

Considering the trajectory of Rio de Janeiro e Lisboa region regarding strengths of the their health local systems to achieve health for all and equity, the study aimed to compare the organization of the Primary Healthcare from both regions, searching to identify the advancement which in terms of the Delivery Health Networks' coordination. It is a case study with qualitative approach and assessment dimensions. It was used material available online such as scientific manuscripts and gray literature. The results showed the different grades regarding Delivery Health Networks. Lisboa region present more advancement, because of its historic issues, it has implemented Primary Healthcare expanded and nowadays it achieved enough maturity related to coordination of its health local system and Rio de Janeiro suffers still influence from historic past regarding Primary Healthcare selective. The both regions has done strong bids in terms of electronic health records and telemedicine. After of the study, it is clearer the historic, cultural and politics and legal issue that determined the differences of the Primary Healthcare coordinator of the Delivery Health Network in Rio de Janeiro and Lisboa region.

Challenges and strategies to improve the availability and geographic accessibility of physicians in Portugal

BACKGROUND

Shortages of physicians in remote, rural and other underserved areas and lack of general practitioners limit access to health services. The aims of this article are to identify the challenges faced by policy and decision-makers in Portugal to guarantee the availability and geographic accessibility to physicians in the National Health Service and to describe and analyse their causes, the strategies to tackle them and their results. We also raise the issue of whether research evidence was used or not in the process of policy development.

METHODS

We analysed policy and technical documents, peer-reviewed papers and newspaper articles from 1995 to 2015 through a structured search of government websites, Portuguese online newspapers and PubMed and Virtual Health Library (Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS)) databases; key informants were consulted to validate and complement the documentary search.

RESULTS

The challenges faced by decision-makers to ensure access to physicians were identified as a forecasted shortage of physicians, geographical imbalances and maldistribution of physicians by level of care. To date, no human resources for health policy has been formulated, in spite of most documents reviewed stating that it is needed. On the other hand, various isolated and ad hoc strategies have been adopted, such as incentives to choose family health as a specialty or to work in an underserved region and recruitment of foreign physicians through bilateral agreements.

CONCLUSIONS

Health workforce research in Portugal is scarce, and therefore, policy decisions regarding the availability and accessibility of physicians are not based on evidence. The policy interventions described in this paper should be evaluated, which would be a good starting point to inform health workforce policy development.

Assessment of the coordination of integrated health service delivery networks by the primary health care: COPAS questionnaire validation in the Brazilian context

BACKGROUND

Health systems organized as networks and coordinated by the Primary Health Care (PHC) may contribute to the improvement of clinical care, sanitary conditions, satisfaction of patients and reduction of local budget expenditures. The aim of this study was to adapt and validate a questionnaire - COPAS - to assess the coordination of Integrated Health Service Delivery Networks by the Primary Health Care.

METHODS

A cross sectional approach was used. The population was pooled from Family Health Strategy healthcare professionals, of the Alfenas region (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Data collection was performed from August to October 2013. The results were checked for the presence of floor and ceiling effects and the internal consistency measured through Cronbach alpha. Construct validity was verified through convergent and discriminant values following Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) analysis.

RESULTS

Floor and ceiling effects were absent. The internal consistency of the instrument was satisfactory; as was the convergent validity, with a few correlations lower then 0.30. The discriminant validity values of the majority of items, with respect to their own dimension, were found to be higher or significantly higher than their correlations with the dimensions to which they did not belong.

CONCLUSION

The results showed that the COPAS instrument has satisfactory initial psychometric properties and may be used by healthcare managers and workers to assess the PHC coordination performance within the Integrated Health Service Delivery Network.

Seriously Implementing Health Capacity Strengthening Programs in Africa: Comment on "Implementation of a Health Management Mentoring Program: Year-1 Evaluation of Its Impact on Health System Strengthening in Zambézia Province, Mozambique"

Faced with the challenges of healthcare reform, skills and new capabilities are needed to support the reform and it is of crucial importance in Africa where shortages affects the health system resilience. Edwards et al provides a good example of the challenge of implementing a mentoring program in one province in a sub-Saharan country. From this example, various aspects of strengthening the capacity of managers in healthcare are examined based on our experience in action-training in Africa, as mentoring shares many characteristics with action-training. What practical lessons can be drawn to promote the strengthening so that managers can better intervene in complex contexts? Deeper involvement of health authorities and more rigorous approaches are seriously desirable for the proper development of health capacity strengthening programs in Africa.

Sistemas de avaliação profissional e contratualização da gestão na Atenção Primária à Saúde em Portugal

Apresenta-se um estudo de caso realizado em Portugal sobre sistemas de avaliação profissional para atenção primária. Os objetivos foram analisar a trajetória de implantação, a estrutura organizacional e as ferramentas de gestão utilizadas, bem como discutir sobre os processos que vêm sendo instituídos no Brasil com o Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade. Trata-se de estudo descritivo, com investigação bibliográfica de abordagem qualitativa. Os resultados indicam uma estrutura de coordenação, com descentralização dos serviços, que requer maior autonomia dos gestores de saúde e regulamentação do processo avaliativo, contribuindo para a obtenção de melhores resultados.

The Great Recession in Portugal: impact on hospital care use

The Great Recession started in Portugal in 2009, coupled with severe austerity. This study examines its impact on hospital care utilization, interpreted as caused by demand-side effects (related to variations in population income and health) and supply-side effects (related to hospitals' tighter budgets and reduced capacity). The database included all in-patient stays at all Portuguese NHS hospitals over the 2001-2012 period (n=17.7 millions). We analyzed changes in discharge rates, casemix index, and length of stay (LOS), using a before-after methodology. We additionally measured the association of health care indicators to unemployment. A 3.2% higher rate of discharges was observed after 2009. Urgent stays increased by 2.5%, while elective in-patient stays decreased by 1.4% after 2011. The LOS was 2.8% shorter after the crisis onset, essentially driven by the 4.5% decrease among non-elective stays. A one percentage point increase in unemployment rate was associated to a 0.4% increase in total volume, a 2.3% decrease in day cases, and a 0.1% decrease in LOS. The increase in total and urgent cases may reflect delayed out-patient care and health deterioration; the reduced volume of elective stays possibly signal a reduced capacity; finally, the shorter stays may indicate either efficiency-enhancing measures or reduced quality.

Reforma na atenção primária à saúde e implicações na cultura organizacional dos Agrupamentos dos Centros de Saúde em Portugal

A crescente complexidade dos desafios do setor da saúde implica um aumento das responsabilidades para aqueles que nela assumem funções de gestão. Há consenso que a qualidade da força de trabalho em saúde é um fator crítico para o sucesso de qualquer reforma no setor. O objetivo desta investigação é estudar e analisar a alteração induzida por uma intervenção de formação-ação intensiva na cultura organizacional de 73 diretores executivos dos Agrupamentos dos Centros de Saúde (ACES) em Portugal durante a reforma na atenção primária à saúde. Os dados foram coletados e analisados em dois períodos temporais, antes e depois da intervenção do Programa Avançado em Gestão, Governação Clínica e Liderança para os ACES, o qual teve um ano de duração. O modelo Competing Values Framework permitiu observar que, depois da intervenção de formação-ação, as percepções dos diretores executivos sobre a sua cultura organizacional se encontram mais alinhadas com a reforma da atenção primária à saúde, valorizando o tipo de práticas e valores que esta defende. É necessário continuar a monitorizar os resultados em vários períodos temporais para elaborar conclusões a esse respeito.

Teamwork in primary care: perspectives of general practitioners and community nurses in Lithuania

BACKGROUND

A team approach in primary care has proven benefits in achieving better outcomes, reducing health care costs, satisfying patient needs, ensuring continuity of care, increasing job satisfaction among health providers and using human health care resources more efficiently. However, some research indicates constraints in collaboration within primary health care (PHC) teams in Lithuania. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon of teamwork in Lithuania by exploring the experiences of teamwork by general practitioners (GPs) and community nurses (CNs) involved in PHC.

METHODS

Six focus groups were formed with 29 GPs and 27 CNs from the Kaunas Region of Lithuania. Discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis of these data was then performed.

RESULTS

The analysis of focus group data identified six thematic categories related to teamwork in PHC: the structure of a PHC team, synergy among PHC team members, descriptions of roles and responsibilities of team members, competencies of PHC team members, communications between PHC team members and the organisational background for teamwork. These findings provide the basis for a discussion of a thematic model of teamwork that embraces formal, individual and organisational factors.

CONCLUSIONS

The need for effective teamwork in PHC is an issue receiving broad consensus; however, the process of teambuilding is often taken for granted in the PHC sector in Lithuania. This study suggests that both formal and individual behavioural factors should be targeted when aiming to strengthen PHC teams. Furthermore, this study underscores the need to provide explicit formal descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of PHC team members in Lithuania, which would include establishing clear professional boundaries. The training of team members is an essential component of the teambuilding process, but not sufficient by itself.