Keywords: coordinated healthcare, primary care, quality
Background:
Coordinated healthcare is a concept that aims to improve the quality of healthcare delivery and the efficiency of resource use in healthcare. The Polish legislator has defined it as an integrated system of providing health care services, covering all stages and elements of the process of their implementation, with the use of ICT systems, electronic communication tools or available public telecommunications services. Coordinated care services address the diagnosis and treatment of selected chronic diseases, such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes, bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or hypothyroidism and chronic kidney disease and can be carried out in PHC entities.
Aim of the case report:
The aim is to present the process of implementation of coorditated care in Polish healthcare system as well as the preliminary results of its implementation.
Case report:
Coordinated care (CC) was introduced with the PHC+ pilot program in 2017, with the pilot covering more than 350,000 patients. The idea of coordinated care worked well, and in 2022 financial support from the National Health Fund and legislation were introduced to formally anchor coordinated care services in clinics.
The proposed changes within CC, according to the Health Ministry, are aimed at increasing the availability of services at the PHC level to expand initial diagnosis at this stage. This will speed up the determination and implementation of appropriate therapy. In addition, the changes are expected to have the effect of relieving the burden on hospital emergency departments.
Conclusions:
The number of providers providing coordinated care in 2023 was 418. This represents 23% of total providers in Poland.
The largest number of contracts for the provision of services, financed under coordinated care budget - 957 - were signed by clinics with up to 5,000 patients. 2024, the number of CC services was amounted to 2,168,361, with a value of more than PLN 220 million ($547).
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