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The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Countries finance health care using a combination of 3 main functions: raising resources for health, pooling resources, and purchasing health services. In this paper, we examine how digital health technologies can be used to enhance these health financing functions in low- and middle-income countrie...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Global Health: Science and Practice
2018
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6203415/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30305337 http://dx.doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-18-00271 |
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author | Meessen, Bruno |
author_facet | Meessen, Bruno |
author_sort | Meessen, Bruno |
collection | PubMed |
description | Countries finance health care using a combination of 3 main functions: raising resources for health, pooling resources, and purchasing health services. In this paper, we examine how digital health technologies can be used to enhance these health financing functions in low- and middle-income countries and can thus contribute to progress toward universal health coverage. We illustrate our points by presenting some recent innovations in digital technologies for financing health care, identifying their contributions and their limits. Some examples include a mobile-health wallet application used in Kenya that encourages households to put money aside for future health expenses; an online software platform developed by a startup in Tanzania in partnership with a private insurance provider to give individuals and families the opportunity to choose among different health coverage options; and digital maps by a number of startups that bring together data on health facility locations and capacity, including equipment, staff, and types of services offered. We also sketch an agenda for future research and action for digital strategies for health financing. The development and adoption of effective solutions that align well with the universal health coverage agenda will require strong partnerships between stakeholders and enough proactive stewardship by authorities. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-6203415 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2018 |
publisher | Global Health: Science and Practice |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-62034152018-11-08 The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Meessen, Bruno Glob Health Sci Pract Original Article Countries finance health care using a combination of 3 main functions: raising resources for health, pooling resources, and purchasing health services. In this paper, we examine how digital health technologies can be used to enhance these health financing functions in low- and middle-income countries and can thus contribute to progress toward universal health coverage. We illustrate our points by presenting some recent innovations in digital technologies for financing health care, identifying their contributions and their limits. Some examples include a mobile-health wallet application used in Kenya that encourages households to put money aside for future health expenses; an online software platform developed by a startup in Tanzania in partnership with a private insurance provider to give individuals and families the opportunity to choose among different health coverage options; and digital maps by a number of startups that bring together data on health facility locations and capacity, including equipment, staff, and types of services offered. We also sketch an agenda for future research and action for digital strategies for health financing. The development and adoption of effective solutions that align well with the universal health coverage agenda will require strong partnerships between stakeholders and enough proactive stewardship by authorities. Global Health: Science and Practice 2018-10-10 /pmc/articles/PMC6203415/ /pubmed/30305337 http://dx.doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-18-00271 Text en © Meessen. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly cited. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. When linking to this article, please use the following permanent link: https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-18-00271 |
spellingShingle | Original Article Meessen, Bruno The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |
title | The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |
title_full | The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |
title_fullStr | The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |
title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |
title_short | The Role of Digital Strategies in Financing Health Care for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries |
title_sort | role of digital strategies in financing health care for universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries |
topic | Original Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6203415/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30305337 http://dx.doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-18-00271 |
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