Adjustments in purchasing arrangements to support the COVID-19 health sector response: evidence from eight middle-income countries

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorParmar, D.
dc.contributor.authorMathauer, I.
dc.contributor.authorAbuosi, A.A.
dc.contributor.authoret al.
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-30T10:09:20Z
dc.date.available2024-04-30T10:09:20Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionResearch Articleen_US
dc.description.abstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has triggered several changes in countries’ health purchasing arrangements to accompany the adjustments in service delivery in order to meet the urgent and additional demands for COVID-19-related services. However, evidence on how these adjustments have played out in low- and middle-income countries is scarce. This paper provides a synthesis of a multi-country study of the adjustments in purchasing arrangements for the COVID-19 health sector response in eight middle-income countries (Armenia, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Romania and Ukraine). We use secondary data assembled by country teams, as well as applied thematic analysis to examine the adjustments made to funding arrangements, benefits packages, provider payments, contracting, information management systems and governance arrangements as well as related implementation challenges. Our findings show that all countries in the study adjusted their health purchasing arrangements to varying degrees. While the majority of countries expanded their benefit packages and several adjusted payment methods to provide selected COVID-19 services, only half could provide these services free of charge. Many countries also streamlined their processes for contracting and accrediting health providers, thereby reducing administrative hurdles. In conclusion, it was important for the countries to adjust their health purchasing arrangements so that they could adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in some countries financing challenges resulted in issues with equity and access. However, it is uncertain whether these adjustments can and will be sustained over time, even where they have potential to contribute to making purchasing more strategic to improve efficiency, quality and equitable access in the long run.en_US
dc.identifier.otherDOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czad121
dc.identifier.urihttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/41741
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherHealth Policy and Planningen_US
dc.subjectCOVID-19en_US
dc.subjecthealth financingen_US
dc.subjecthealth purchasingen_US
dc.subjectmiddle-income countriesen_US
dc.titleAdjustments in purchasing arrangements to support the COVID-19 health sector response: evidence from eight middle-income countriesen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Adjustments in purchasing arrangements to support the.pdf
Size:
369.43 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Department of Public Administration and Health Service Management