Global Challenges in People-Centered E-Health

People-centered health care seeks an active role for the patient while empowering all other members of the health care team. By promoting greater patient responsibility and optimal usage, patient-centered health care leads to improved health outcomes, quality of life and optimal value for health care investment. This paper reviews some definitions of people-centered health care and various e-health approaches around the world used to implement this vision. The barriers and enablers to implementation this type of approach are explored. This paper provides a proposed research agenda for future implementations of people-centered e-health.

Implementing people-centred health systems governance in 3 provinces and 11 districts of Afghanistan: a case study

Enhancing governance and health system accountability for people centered healthcare: an exploratory study of community scorecards in Afghanistan

BACKGROUND:

The premise of patient-centered care is to empower patients to become active participants in their own care and receive health services focused on their individual needs and preferences. Afghanistan has evidenced enormous gains in coverage and utilization, but the quality of care remains suboptimal, as evidenced in the balanced scorecard (BSC) performance assessments. In the United States and throughout Africa and Asia, community scorecards (CSC) have proved effective in improving accountability and responsiveness of services. This study represents the first attempt to assess CSC feasibility in a fragile context (Afghanistan) through joint engagement of service providers and community members ...

Community Participation in Health Systems Research: A Systematic Review Assessing the State of Research, the Nature of Interventions Involved and the Features of Engagement with Communities

BACKGROUND:

Community participation is a major principle of people centered health systems, with considerable research highlighting its intrinsic value and strategic importance. Existing reviews largely focus on the effectiveness of community participation with less attention to how community participation is supported in health systems intervention research.

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the extent, nature and quality of community participation in health systems intervention research in low- and middle-income countries.

METHODOLOGY:

We searched for peer-reviewed, English language literature published between January 2000 and May 2012 through four electronic databases. Search terms combined the concepts of community, capability/participation, health systems research and low- ...

Evaluation of health care delivery integration: The case of the Russian Federation

This case study explores the current state of affairs within Russia's health system providing care for increasingly complex chronic conditions from the perspective of providers, namely physicians. A survey was developed by a group of experts and later distributed by the Russian center for public opinion research in August 2012. It focused on the interactions between providers at different levels of the health system often working in different organizational models such as primary care offices, polyspecialty clinics as well as hospitals. The survey focused on three areas crucial to integration, namely: teamwork, coordination and continuity of care. The results ...

Primary Care Physicians In Ten Countries Report Challenges Caring For Patients With Complex Health Needs

A compelling article that explores some of the current challenges facing the integration of primary care within the health systems of 10 high income countries. The data comes from the 18^th annual Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians which was completed in 2015 in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. While primary care physicians reported being well prepared for multiple chronic medical conditions, several health areas such as mental health and addiction were noted for being weak points for providers. A frequent challenge was ...

Integrated care: meaning, logic, applications, and implications – a discussion paper

Integrated care is a burgeoning field. As is often the case in new areas of inquiry and action, conceptual clarification is demanded. Without such attention, it would be difficult to advance theory and practice in this increasingly important professional arena. In the following discussion paper, the authors explore the intellectual territory of integrated care, and underscore the need for a patient-centric imperative and meaning. They also examine the practical applications and implications arising from their views. The intention is to stimulate fruitful dialogue and debate about what ‘integrated care’ could and should be.

What is person-centered health care?

What is person-centred health care? There are many definitions of person-centred (patient-or client-centred) health care in the literature. The Victorian Department of Human Services (2003) defines person-centred care as ‘treatment and care provided by health services [that] places the person at the centre of their own care and considers the needs of the older person’s carers’. The main features of person-centred health care derived from the literature can be encompassed within the concept of partnership. The overriding message is that person-centred care is about a collaborative and respectful partnership between the service provider and user. The service provider respects ...