International and National Health Care System and Polices in Public Health

Osama A Samarkandi, PhD, RN

BSc, GMD, BSN, MSN, NIAC

EMS 313; Public Health for EMS Professionals

Oct. 29th, 2014

Governance Defined

• The exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country’s affairs at all levels.

• Comprises complex mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, mediate their differences and exercise their legal rights and obligations

Frameworks for the Analysis of Governance

• WHO’s domains of stewardship; • PAHO’s Essential Public Health

Functions;• World Bank’s six Basic Aspects of

Governance; • UNDP’s Principles of Good Governance

WHO’s Domains of Stewardship

• Generation of intelligence • Formulating strategic policy direction • Ensuring tools for implementation: powers,

incentives and sanctions • Building coalition / building partnership • Ensuring a fit between policy objectives and

organizational structure and culture • Ensuring accountability

PAHO’s Essential Public Health Functions • Monitoring evaluation and analysis of the health situation • Public health surveillance, research and control of risks • Health promotion• Social participation in health• Policies and institutional capacity for planning and management • Strengthening institutional capacity for regulation and

enforcement • Evaluation and promotion of equitable access to health services• Human resource development and training • Quality assurance in personal and population-based health

services• Research in public health• Reducing impact of emergencies and disasters on health

World Bank’s Governance Indicators• Process by which those in authority are selected and replaced

• Voice and Accountability• Political Instability and Violence

• Ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies• Government Effectiveness• Regulatory Burden

• Respect of citizens and the state for institutions which govern their interaction • Rule of Law • Graft (control of corruption)

UNDP’s Five Principles of Good Governance

Principles Thematic areas

Legitimacy and voice ParticipationConsensus orientation

Direction Strategic vision

Performance ResponsivenessEffectiveness and efficiency

Accountability Accountability Transparency

Fairness Equity and inclusivenessRule of law

Contemporary Issues in the Governance of Health Systems

• Role of the state vs. the market in health• Role of the ministries of health vs. other state

ministries • Actors in Governance – public sector, civil society

and the private sector • Static vs. dynamic health systems• Health Reform vs. Human Rights-based approach to

health

Why the term –”Governance”?

• Governance is better understood by those within the health system and those outside;

• International development agencies have delineated the principles of governance that are well understood

• Performance of the health system is dependent on overall governance of a country

Health Governance Principles • Strategic vision• Participation and consensus orientation• Rule of law• Transparency• Responsiveness• Equity and inclusiveness• Effectiveness and efficiency • Accountability• Information and intelligence • Ethics

Health Governance Analytical Framework • Governance principle

• Domain• Broad question

• Specific questions / item

• Level of Assessment• National• MOH Policy• MOH Implementation

Analytical Framework for Assessing Strategic Vision

Governance principle - Strategic VisionDomain - Long term vision

Broad Question Specific Question

National level What are the broad outlines of economic policy of the government;

Where does health rank in the overall development framework by resource allocation, and as percentage of total government expenditure

MOH policy level Whether there is a long term vision (policy) for health;

Is there a national health policy/strategic plan available stating objectives, strategies with a time frame and resources allocated

MOH implementation level Whether the implementation mechanisms are in line with the stated objectives of health policy

What priority programs are being implemented and how do they correspond to the policy objectives

Data Collection and Sources of Information

Documents• National budget document, report of the treasury, state

bank, • Reports of ministry of economics, national statistical

organizations• Policy documents from MoH, analysis by international

and NGOs • MoH policy/ implementation reports, media reports,

external reviews • Health budget reports, budget speeches • Reviews of the health legislative process• National information policy• MoH policy/ implementation reports, • Media reports, external reviews of health policy • PRSP documents• MoH contracting manual, rules and procedures for civil

servants• National statistical reports, national health reports

Interviews• National and MOH

policymakers, • Mid- and senior managerial

staff of the MOH or its component departments,

• Civil society organizations• International development

agencies, • Academic institutions, • Media personnel and • Direct community

representatives

Applying the Health Governance Framework in a Country Setting

Health governance map of Pakistan – Strengths

• Central level • Social safety nets for the poor and vulnerable; • Increasing role of the media and NGO’s in protecting people’s health.

• MOH policy level• Preparation of draft bills to update health legislation; • Emerging role of the Pakistan health policy forum as a civil society organization; • Stable turnover of health policymakers during the last six years are positive elements

• MOH implementation level • Increasing public-private interaction• Preventive programs, especially the LHW Program which has a strong community as

well as an equity dimension

Health governance map of Pakistan – Weaknesses• Central level

• Lack of participatory decision making and culture of accountability; • Parallel streams of bureaucracy and technocracy do not work in unison • Adherence to rules and procedures is considered as an end; • Lack of consumer protection act delays or deny justice

• MOH policy level • Short-term objectives override the need for focus on health outcomes; • Health equity is not high on the policy agenda; • Mechanisms to monitor transparency of decisions do not exist; • Decisions often tinged with personal preferences, not evidence-based; • Legislation on minimum standards of care is absent with lax regulation and

enforcement capacity; • Policy, planning, health information and surveillance units are weak; • Delays in release and utilization of funds; • Accountability systems focus on procedure instead of performance; • Bioethics is not on the policy radar of MOH.

Appraisal of the Framework• Can health governance be improved without addressing overall

governance of a country? • Health system reforms versus broader civil service reforms

• Health governance assessment framework relies on qualitative approach and does not follow a scoring or ranking system• retains the richness of information collected • development of a scoring system is not precluded

• Does the assessment framework allow for cross-country comparison of the governance function? • A health governance map can be developed for each country

• Contemporary issues in relation to health governance included• Flexibility in the framework to integrate newer ones as they emerge

• Health governance framework does not cover • global health governance • clinical governance

Policy Implications of Assessing Health Governance• Raises awareness among policymakers about

governance as a function of the health system • Provides an avenue for debate on a subject that is

often ‘pushed under the carpet’ • Assesses each governance principle and allows

developing interventions to address them • Governance issues identified at three levels, allowing

for measures at each • Improving health governance requires political

commitment as well as financial resources

Questions ?