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The Georgian healthcare system: is it reaching the WHO health system goals?
Author(s) -
Collins Téa
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the international journal of health planning and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-1751
pISSN - 0749-6753
DOI - 10.1002/hpm.853
Subject(s) - health care , business , georgian , government (linguistics) , economic growth , healthcare system , health insurance , health policy , economics , linguistics , philosophy
After the break‐up of the Soviet Union, the country of Georgia suffered from intense civil unrest and socio‐economic deterioration, which particularly affected the health sector. To remedy the situation, the government initiated health sector reform, which introduced major changes in healthcare financing in Georgia: the previously free healthcare model was replaced by social insurance, and patients were required to pay out‐of‐pocket for services not covered by insurance. This paper is an attempt to determine if the health system of Georgia is reaching the WHO health system goals of improved health status, responsiveness to patients' needs (consumer satisfaction), and financial risk protection as a result of health reforms. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.