Web-economic-crisis-health-systems-and-health-web

Country profiles of health system responses to the crisis | Portugal
465
This relates to areas of service provision such as dialysis and the pharmacy
sector, which have seen renegotiation of prices and contracted conditions
in order to reduce public expenditure.
• Required by the MoU to “assess compliance with European competition
rules of the provision of services in the private health care sector and
guarantee increasing competition among private providers” and “reinforce
the centralized monitoring of PPP [public–private provider] contracts by
the Treasury in cooperation with the ACSS” (target for second quarter
of 2012).
• Required by the MoU to “set mechanisms to ensure a more balanced
distribution of GPs across the country” (originally meant for fourth
quarter of 2011, then first quarter of 2012, then moved to “ongoing” as
it has been delayed).
• Aim to improve accessibility of primary health care services by “cleaning”
GP's lists of “non-users” and extending the size of GPs' lists (from current
average of 1550 patients/GP, to 1900 patients/GP)
Priority setting or protocols to change access to treatments, coordination
of care and patterns of use
• Introduction of measures in health information systems to prevent the
prescribing of diagnostic tests that offer no benefit to patients and a
financial penalty for inappropriate use of drugs (2010).
• Increased the number of patients in the list of each GP, from 1500 to
1900, which was possible because of working hours changes.
• Production of a large number of clinical guidelines for improving quality
in health care (since 2011). Evaluation of their impact is in a very early
stage.
• Introduction of feedback on prescribing patterns for physicians (since
2011).
• A benchmark system set up for hospital performance (2012).
Waiting times
• No response reported.
Health promotion and prevention
• Taxes on tobacco increased (2011).
• Health Plan 2012–2016 expands existing priority programmes on HIV,
cardiovascular diseases, cancer and mental health and introduces new
programmes on diabetes, tobacco consumption, healthy diet, respiratory
diseases and stroke.