Ukrainian Healthcare Center’s (UHC) team proposed a new model of primary health services at the local level by engaging local private providers in public funding by the National Health Service of Ukraine. This new model will respond to the population health needs significantly affected by the ongoing war and will motivate Ukrainians to return home and receive quality services.
With the Healthcare Financing Reform in 2017, Ukraine has committed to creating conditions for healthy competition among healthcare providers of different forms of ownership and providing them with equal opportunities for development and work.
Small and medium-sized communities have found themselves in a particularly vulnerable position due to war-caused migration, compounded by the ageing and natural decline of the population. During the post-war period, these communities will experience an increased concentration of less mobile older populations that require the most attention from the healthcare system and consume the highest amount of medical services and medications. On the other hand, the internally displaced persons (IDP) influx in bigger cities is already causing a gap in healthcare services.
The engagement of private providers could increase competition, higher quality of services, and better efficiency for health services in small and medium-sized communities.
The Pilot project seeks to introduce a PHC+ healthcare model with private providers' involvement in selected communities. The Pilot project can be valuable in adapting to emerging needs and improving healthcare access through the PHC+ instruments.
The organizational model of the PHC+ practice should ensure the availability of services to patients, especially urgent and emergency care. Long-term strategies for workforce development, improved communication, and partnership-building will be essential for the sustainable success of the PHC+ model in Ukraine's healthcare system.
Experts developed the model as a part of the project “Leveraging private provision of primary and specialised healthcare in Ukraine”, which is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands under Dutch development foreign policy, financed by the Private sector development program of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl).