Estonia
Success of flagship course on health system strengthening continues
The health system strengthening and sustainable financing course enables health sector stakeholders and policy makers to discuss challenges in a training environment. (Photo: WHO/Jarno Habicht)
In October 2010, over 60 government and health insurance fund officials, and other health sector stakeholders from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are participating in a flagship course on health system strengthening and sustainable financing, coordinated by WHO/Europe. This is the second time the course has been held, after a highly successful first round in 2009.
The focus of the week’s training, held in Tallinn, Estonia, is the planning and governance of provider networks, including primary care, hospitals, emergency medical services, long-term care and public health. Issues covered include:
- health service provider networks and relations between provider levels (such as primary health care and hospitals);
- planning of the structure and capacity of hospital networks;
- governance of service provider networks;
- governance and management of hospitals, and investments;
- financial and non-financial incentives for coordination across levels and types of care; and
- management of chronic disease.
WHO/Europe coordinated the course, organized jointly with the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, with financial support from the European Social Fund. It provides a platform for senior officials and health sector stakeholders to discuss current and future challenges in a training setting that provides a unique and rare opportunity to interact with policy-makers. A mixture of expert presentations, facilitated debate and presentations from the participating countries ensures that practical experiences and good practices are shared.
This module will be followed by two more on health system financing and performance assessment in 2011.