Patient safety, quality care, still on back burner for most EU countries, according to new
Source: Euractiv
Quality of care and patient safety across the WHO European Region is seriously challenged, according to the preliminary findings of a new report presented during the European Health Forum Gastein.
The WHO’s response to the healthcare crisis plaguing most European countries, often due to ageing societies and political turbulence, focuses on a whole-system approach to quality of care. To highlight the challenges and importance of this structure, the Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety of WHO Europe collected data from across the region, presenting a snapshot at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG).
“Health systems are currently facing unprecedented challenges, requiring them to adapt and regenerate to meet the evolving needs of populations,” said Joao Breda, Head of WHO Athens Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety & Special Adviser for the Regional Director, Special Representative and Officer in Charge of WHO Greece.
Lilian Vildiridi, General Secretary for Health Services at the Greek Health Ministry, told Euractiv: “In a constantly evolving environment, the emphasis that healthcare systems must place on quality is both a necessity and a social imperative. This is because the quality of care and treatment not only affects the health of healthcare recipients but also tests the reliability and resilience of the system itself.”
Drawing attention to quality
“What is universal health coverage if we only have access and we have access to poor quality or unsafe health care?” remarked Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO Regional Office for Europe, during the EHFG session.
She explained, “Unless we can ensure quality of care and show that our systems are delivering good quality care, we will lose trust. We will lose the trust of patients, and we will also lose the trust of professionals who feel that their efforts may be in vain.”
“WHO/Europe, through its Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens, is playing a pivotal role in supporting health system reforms, promoting a comprehensive approach to quality of care that emphasises equitable, efficient, accessible, timely, and people-centred services,” said Breda, adding that “This approach also highlights the importance of adequate governance, financing, and an empowered healthcare workforce.”
According to Breda, the results from the first-ever report on the status of quality of care and patient safety across the WHO European Region, based on data from all 53 member states of the WHO European Region, reveal significant challenges.
“Only 32% of countries in the Region have national plans for quality of care, and just 30% have national action plans for patient safety. Furthermore, only 13% of countries have mechanisms for patient/public representation in health governance or established guidelines for quality and safety in telehealth.”
The preliminary findings presented at the EHFG by the Quality of Care team, along with the upcoming launch of the full report in December in Athens, Greece, “underscore the urgent need for reforms,” Breda noted.
“We need a clear focus on equity, efficiency, and outcomes that matter to people,” he told Euractiv.
Scarce patient involvement
A more positive result relates to the implementation of antimicrobial resistance plans.
“79% of countries have such plans, but at the same time, we know that persistent disparities in AMR prevalence remain for important pathogens such as E. coli, showing also ranges across the region,” remarked Liesbeth Borgermans, an Expert Consultant for the WHO Athens Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety.
Most importantly, “patient and public representation in national health governance is nearly non-existent, with only 13% of countries using these policy mechanisms,” she added.
According to Borgermans, “the policy instrument that is the least implemented in countries is a health misinformation prevention plan. Only four countries reported to have implemented such a plan”.
The information on the 46 indicators analysed in the report is used to develop country profiles for each of the 53 member states in the region.
Measuring outcomes is key
According to Stefan Larsson, Chairman and Co-founder of the International Consortium of Health Outcomes Measurement, “We need to fundamentally rethink how we organise and manage healthcare.” Better outcomes that matter to patients mean high-quality care, he explained.
“The purpose of the healthcare system is to deliver better health to our patients, but we’re not systematically measuring the outcomes for patients,” said Larsson.
Healthcare systems are different, but diseases are the same wherever they appear. “The desirable outcomes are the same, and the therapies that work are to a large extent the same. So, if we focus on patients and outcomes, we can learn across systems and know whether we’re doing a good job or not,” he added.
Larsson said: “There’s growing evidence around the world from many institutions that measuring outcomes, making the data transparent, drives change in clinical care.” He explained that along with superior outcomes for patients, the practice often leads to lower costs, strengthened clinical research and “a culture of continuous improvement that inspires clinicians instead of making them frustrated with the pressure to do volume instead of quality.”
The outcome, he said, is: “ (…) new levels of public-private partnerships when you align the interests of the industry with the interests of patients, clinicians, and payers.”
“You need to have a coherent strategy which focuses on measuring outcomes, ensuring collaboration along the care chain, payment models that incentivise the right behaviours and access to the data that allows research and innovation in this space,” he emphasised.
Evidence-based policies
According to Vildiridi, using indicators to systematically collect valid and reliable health data is key for the Ministry’s leadership “to fulfil the long-term goal of adequately meeting the health needs of the population with good quality health services.”
“It is also a prerequisite for evidence-based policy-making for health, which not only respects and takes into account the needs and expectations of health service users but also promotes transparency and accountability,” she added.
Vildiridi told Euractiv, “The foundations have been laid for the development and implementation of the ‘National Strategy for Quality of Care, Safety and Patient Involvement in Health Services’.”
“In essence, the new national strategy, which is expected to be finalised at the end of this year in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s Quality of Care and Patient Safety Office in Athens, will serve as an accelerator and as a reference point to strengthen the efforts that started already in the year 2019 and have continued uninterrupted until today,” she added.
[Edited by Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab]
The original article: Euractiv .
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