Question

Health service delivery systems that are safe, accessible, high quality, people-centered, and integrated are critical for moving towards universal health coverage. Service delivery systems are responsible for providing health services for patients, persons, families, communities, and populations in general, and not only care for patients. While patient-centered care is commonly understood as focusing on the individual seeking care (the patient), people-centered care encompasses these clinical encounters and also includes attention to the health of people in their communities and their crucial role in shaping health policy and health services.

Service delivery systems should also consider the whole spectrum of care from promotion and prevention to diagnostic, rehabilitation and palliative care, as well all levels of care including self-care, home care, community care, primary care, long-term care, hospital care, in order to provide integrated health services throughout the life course. WHO is supporting countries in moving towards universal health coverage through improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their health service delivery systems.

Response from reading above:

Every government has a limited budget for health services. Which services should be high priorities even when budgets are tight? Which services are ones that should not be the responsibility of the government? Provide support and examples to defend your position.

Be sure to consider the full spectrum of health-related services, such as contraceptives, prenatal care, measles vaccines, typhoid vaccines for travelers, dental fillings, emergency care from paramedics, surgery to set fractured bones, wheelchairs, medications for depression, medications for hypertension, eyeglasses, radiation therapy for cancer, counseling for anxiety disorders, smoking cessation counseling, dialysis for kidney failure, heart transplants, and long-term care for severe dementia.

Answer 1

* For moving towards universal health coverage,Government should focus on prevention if illness and promotion of health in individual,family,community and country.

*Many diseases are related to life style and behaviours ;

Example- heart diseases(other than congenital) are always related to sedentary life style and consuming highly saturated fatty food.A person who who work physically hard and  doing exercise regularly and modifying his dietary habits to consume boiled food than fried and reducing fat and oil content surely have very little chance of developing heart disease.

* Treating a person with long term illness like DIABETES,HYPERTENSION,HEART DISEASES,KIDNEY DISEASE ,LUNG CANCER DUE TO SMOKING etc are more expensive than the expenses needed to prevent them by education and promoting healthy practices and behaviors in the populalation.

QUESTION no:1) Which services should be high priorities even when budgets are tight?

a) Health promotion and prevention by financing public health services to provide health education,motivating people to practice and follow healthy practices,identifying risk group and screening should be given priority.

PRIORITY AREAS:

*Contraceptives - To control births in highly populated contries like India,This will help to reduce poplation and provide better quality life .Reduce chiid and maternal morbidity and mortality due to malnutrition and lack of accessible health facilities.

* Prenatal care: Very important to have a healthy population.when mother is healthy she can give birth to a healthy baby . Antenatal diet, regular check up,supplimentation of nutrients etc are very important to have a healthy baby and mother.

* Measles and Typhoid vaccine: Vaccination for communicable diseases are very important,Government should make sure the entire population is vaccinated for particular diseases . This helps to improve health of population.

Examlple: POLIO IMMUNIZATION in INDIA helped to control and almost irradicate polio.

*Counseling for anxiety disorders ,smoking cessation: Counseling will help the people to overcome problems and lead healthy life,especially to understand effects of alcoholism,smoking,anxiety etc.These can lead to many health problems and diseases

*Long term care services for dementia:- seen in elderly,government should fund for care of elderly .

QUESTION no:2) Services that are not responsibility of Government:

* Dental filling,surgery to fracture,medication for depression and hypertension,eye glasses, radiation therapy for cancer, dialysis for kidney failure,heart transplant, etc

THESE are preventable conditions .

DEPRESSION- by developing healthy psychological and social habits

Hypertension-by healthy life style.

Cancer -by heathy behaviours like not smoking,alcoholism,eat fresh food,etc.

Kidney failure- Diabetes and Hypertension are common reasons for renal failure which are preventable.