scholarly journals Improvement of Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. S18-22
Author(s):  
Cheryl C.W Ho ◽  
Tommy K.C Ng
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Private Health Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Voucher Scheme ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Elderly Health ◽  
The Government

Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme is a financial support provided by the government to the elderly for having more choices in selecting private primary health care services. It has been launched for more than ten years (including pilot scheme). The success of the voucher depends on its effectiveness so that Hong Kong elderly can benefit from it. The aim of this article is to analyse whether the voucher scheme has achieved its goals and what improvement can be made. The scheme is successful in encouraging the elderly to use private primary care, considering that the participation rate of the scheme is high, and elderly could use private health care services to supplement public health care services. Yet, the amount of the subsidy is insufficient to support the needs of the elderly and the providers of the voucher are not enough for Hong Kong elderly. Also, it is found that private health care services give the old generation an impression of expensiveness and unreliable even with the support of the Health Care Voucher. To improve the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme and solve the problems, the government should increase the amount of the voucher, set standards for regular monitoring, cooperate with private health care providers and invite more providers. Ultimately, the elderly would enjoy greater flexibility in choosing medical services in meeting their needs and the scheme can effectively achieve its purpose.

scholarly journals A systematic review to assess the impact of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHCVS) and the feasibility to fully adopt in Hong Kong elder care services

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Wing Pun ◽  
Lana Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Elder Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
The Public ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Elderly Health ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Finding a solution to tackle the overcrowding and over-reliance on public health care services has been a policy agenda of the Hong Kong Government throughout the past decade. The purpose of this review is to provide valuable insight for policymakers to understand whether the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHCVS) is a realistic policy tool to shift service demand from the public to the private sector and its possibility to apply in other similar publicly funded settings.Methods: Included records in this review were selected through CINAHL, PubMed, and Google Scholar peer-reviewed articles databases and nine targeted government websites. All potential records were assessed based on the prespecified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis was used to combine the extracted data and to construct key themes of the impact of the EHCVS.Results: The findings highlight some of the successes of the policy that focus on strengthening the connection between government, elders and private health care providers, and improving the quality of acute care. However, less than successful elements that require revision include designing the purpose of voucher for preventive care and disease management and shifting elders from the public to private health sector through financial incentives. Overall, the analysis suggested the financial subsidies have not motivated elders to utilise private health care services, but rather it demonstrates an effort by the Hong Kong Government to begin addressing public health care waiting lists while prioritising quality care for senior citizens throughout the last 10 years.Conclusion: Better consideration of the subsidy amount to remove the financial burden of the older population, along with greater information disclosure and promotion may increase elders’ willingness to utilise private elder care services, potentially improve the quality of life for seniors, and ultimately reduce the burden on public elder care sector in the future.

scholarly journals Determination of needs of black aged persons in Port Elizabeth: Direction for future interventions

Curationis ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. S. Ntshona
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Home Care Services ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Port Elizabeth ◽  
The Government

Social, economic and health care needs of elderly black persons in Port Elizabeth and areas in its immediate vicinity are investigated. Conclusions are drawn from a sample study of 301 elderly people. The investigation reveals that the majority of pensioners are -women, their educational standard is below standard 10, and they have little vocational or specialized training. A high proportion (86%) of them are breadwinners and therefore they are unwilling to reside in institutions. Recreational facilities are inadequate. Pension payout points are overcrowded and disorganized. Also health care services are inaccessible to most elderly people. In view of these findings, a community-based approach to care for the elderly is recommended. The approach should promote social interaction among elderly through establishment of luncheon clubs and service centres and well-being of all elderly through geriatric clinics as well as home care services for the infirm. This entails an intersectorial collaboration, with the elderly being fully involved and participating. Considering the exponential growth of the elderly population in South Africa, it is imperative that the government and other organizations should take cognizance of studies of this nature when making future decisions as regards the care of this group.

scholarly journals Patient Perception of Health Care Services: A Comparative Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 526-528
Author(s):  
Rashmi Ananth Pai
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Testing Procedure ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost

Assessment of patient satisfaction is a measurement that obtains information or ratings from patients about their perception of the services being provided from an organization, hospital, physician, or healthcare provider and plays an increasingly important role toward accountability among health care providers. The present study aimed at comparing the patient’s perception of services being provided in the government and private sectors. 120 patients (60 from each sector) natively from Karnataka, India with knowledge of English participated in this study. Subjects were asked to rate their experiences before, during and after consultation. A checklist to rate the patient satisfaction was developed. The checklist comprised of 11 questions covering the most important domains pertaining to patient satisfaction about the health care services provided. Obtained responses were statistically compared using independent t test. Significant differences in the satisfaction levels of the subjects in the government and the private set ups were seen at p< 0.05 (t=2.921, 118). In government sector patients were better satisfied with certain aspects like the cost factor, information provided about the problem and guidance regarding intervention whereas the patients in the private sector were better satisfied with the orientation to the department, information furnished about the problem, comfort and privacy during the testing procedure.

scholarly journals Understanding the Puzzle of Primary Health-care Use: Evidence from India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramod Kumar Sur
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Care Use ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Private Health Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Primary Health

In India, households' use of primary health-care services presents a puzzle. Even though most private health-care providers have no formal medical qualifications, a significant fraction of households use fee-charging private health-care services, which are not covered by insurance. Although the absence of public health-care providers could partially explain the high use of the private sector, this cannot be the only explanation. The private share of health-care use is even higher in markets where qualified doctors offer free care through public clinics; despite this free service, the majority of health-care visits are made to providers with no formal medical qualifications. This paper examines the reasons for the existence of this puzzle in India. Combining contemporary household-level data with archival records, I examine the aggressive family planning program implemented during the emergency rule in the 1970s and explore whether the coercion, disinformation, and carelessness involved in implementing the program could partly explain the puzzle. Exploiting the timing of the emergency rule, state-level variation in the number of sterilizations, and an instrumental variable approach, I show that the states heavily affected by the sterilization policy have a lower level of public health-care usage today. I demonstrate the mechanism for this practice by showing that the states heavily affected by forced sterilizations have a lower level of confidence in government hospitals and doctors and a higher level of confidence in private hospitals and doctors in providing good treatment.

scholarly journals The visionary who transformed private health care in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Raju Vaishya
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Private Health Care ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care Health ◽  
World Class ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Come ◽  
Reverse Brain Drain

Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy is the Founder-Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals Group (AHG) and is considered a living legend and architect of modern private health care in India. In 1983, Dr. Reddy started the first professionally run private hospital – Apollo Hospitals in Madras (now Chennai). Since then, the AHG has expanded to over 73 hospitals across the country. The state-of-the-art facilities have made advanced health-care services accessible and affordable to all in need. AHG has a presence in primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, quarterly care, health IT, tele-health (tele-consults, tele-pathology, tele-cardiology, and tele-radiology), eICU pharmacy retailing, project consultancy, research, and academics. He catalyzed a “reverse brain drain” by inspiring hundreds of Non-Resident Indian Doctors to come back to India, by creating opportunities and providing them with a world class medical ecosystem. Dr. Reddy’s contributions are widely recognized by patients, doctors, the health-care fraternity across the world, the community at large, and by the Government of India.

A Study on the Impact of Demonetization on Utilisation of Private Health Care Services in a South Indian City

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Vijay K. Yalanchmanchili ◽  
N. Partha Sarathy ◽  
U. Vijaya Kumar ◽  
M. Ravi Kiran ◽  
Kalapala Abhilash
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Private Health Care ◽  
Care Services ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Indian City ◽  
The Impact

Access to health care and Informal Patient Payments for health care in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Buch Mejsner ◽  
S Lavasani Kjær ◽  
L Eklund Karlsson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Access To Health

Abstract Background Evidence often shows that migrants in the European region have poor access to quality health care. Having a large number of migrants seeking towards Europe, crossing through i.e. Serbia, it is crucial to improve migrants' access to health care and ensure equality in service provision Aim To investigate what are the barriers and facilitators of access to health care in Serbia, perceived by migrants, policy makers, health care providers, civil servants and experts working with migrants. Methods six migrants in an asylum center and eight civil servants in the field of migration were conducted. A complementary questionnaire to key civil servants working with migrants (N = 19) is being distributed to complement the data. The qualitative and quantitative data will be analysed through Grounded Theory and Logistic Regression respectively. Results According to preliminary findings, migrants reported that they were able to access the health care services quite easily. Migrants were mostly fully aware of their rights to access these health care services. However, the interviewed civil servants experienced that, despite the majority of migrants in camps were treated fairly, some migrants were treated inappropriately by health care professionals (being addressed inappropriately, poor or lacking treatment). The civil servants believed that local Serbs, from their own experiences, were treated poorer than migrants (I.e. paying Informal Patient Payments, poor quality of and access to health care services). The interviewed migrants were trusting towards the health system, because they felt protected by the official system that guaranteed them services. The final results will be presented at the conference. Conclusions There was a difference in quality of and access to health care services of local Serbs and migrants in the region. Migrants may be protected by the official health care system and thus have access to and do not pay additional fees for health care services. Key messages Despite comprehensive evidence on Informal Patient Payments (IPP) in Serbia, further research is needed to highlight how health system governance and prevailing policies affect IPP in migrants. There may be clear differences in quality of and access to health care services between the local population and migrants in Serbia.

Needs assessment for gender sensitive reproductive health services for adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Rahmanian ◽  
Soheila Nazarpour ◽  
Masoumeh Simbar ◽  
Ali Ramezankhani ◽  
Farid Zayeri
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Reproductive Health Services ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Reproductive Health Care ◽  
Care Services

AbstractBackgroundA dimension of reproductive health services that should be gender sensitive is reproductive health services for adolescents.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess needs for gender sensitive reproductive health care services for adolescents.MethodsThis was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 341 of health care providers for adolescents in health centers and hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2016. The subjects of the study were recruited using a convenience sampling method. The tools for data collection were: (1) a demographic information questionnaire and; (2) a valid and reliable questionnaire to Assess the Needs of Gender-Sensitive Adolescents Reproductive Health Care Services (ANQ-GSARHS) including three sections; process, structure and policy making for the services. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.ResultsThree hundred and forty-one health providers with an average working experience of 8.77 ± 5.39 [mean ± standard deviation (SD)] years participated in the study. The results demonstrated the highest scores for educational needs (92.96% ± 11.49%), supportive policies (92.71% ± 11.70%) and then care needs (92.37% ± 14.34%) of the services.ConclusionsProviding gender sensitive reproductive health care services for adolescents needs to be reformed as regards processes, structure and policies of the services. However, the gender appropriate educational and care needs as well as supportive policies are the priorities for reform of the services.

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