The basic problems of public health
Primary care, and the national health systems in general, need to modify a work and management model that has shown its inefficiency with an unprecedented increase in the volume of care that was observed during the pandemic.
Approaches from public health should not be based on acting on individuals or groups of individuals at high risk of suffering from a certain pathology, but should be carried out universal actions that manage to reduce the risk of the population as a whole, shifting the curve of risk towards healthier places introducing new habits to the population and modifying the inefficient processes of the system.
The Global Health Service Monitor 2021, carried out by Ipsos, offers a global perspective on the main problems of the current health and healthcare systems. Including how people perceive the services available to them and what they think needs to be improved.
This study indicates that the main health problems would be:
1. Access to treatment / waiting times.
2. Lack of staff.
3. Cost of treatment access.
4. Bureaucracy.
5. Lack of investment in preventive health.
According to this study, access to treatment and waiting times emerge as the main problems facing the global health system (four out of 10 respondents said so). This is followed by the lack of qualified professionals and the cost of access to treatment.
However, curiously, if we talk about the quality of health care that the population receives from their health system, 53% of those surveyed rate it as good or very good. A figure surpassed by Spain, where 60% of those surveyed think the same of the SNS.
And what challenges does primary care face?
Well, practically the same ones that are reflected in the mentioned document: too much bureaucracy, an unequal distribution of tasks between professional categories, the lack of human resources and a poorly managed demand from the population.
The increase in the population and its aging only aggravate the situation, making it necessary to search for a new work model and new ways of treatment.
Digital health as a transformation tool
The new digital health model requires the joint action of all the agents that make up the sector and poses an important need in terms of training and information to meet the new needs that Value-Based Health Care brings with it, which proclaims the ASD.
Personalized attention becomes a fundamental pillar in the new health plan, which must be adapted to each patient based on their circumstances. An adaptation that is only possible by providing professionals with prevention capabilities, the issuance of individualized health alerts, and remote detection of risks and diagnostic assistance, applying Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies, characteristics offered by specialized health technology software. .
The regulation of applications for doctors, which promote the implementation of digital medicine and the paradigm shift in terms of clinical methodology is one of the objectives set by the Ministry of Health. These softwares represent a “red point” in the preparation of the Primary Care Transformation Plan.
In this way, the appearance of apps such as TRAK in rehabilitation services to create a digital physiotherapy model, constitutes another step towards the evolution of the health system.
As a last point to take into account, it would be interesting to assess the digital transformation of management support processes. The objective would be to improve the evaluation and services offered to patients. On the other hand, they also want to promote transparency and decision-making based on data, facilitating the work of administration and health professionals.