Family physician model in the health system of selected countries: A comparative study summary

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In the 21 st century, with the epidemiological and demographic transition and the changing nature of diseases and the increase in the burden of chronic diseases, the need to strengthen primary health care and the development of the family medical program as a strategy is felt significantly. AIM: The purpose of this study is to compare the model of implementation of family physician program (FPP) in the United States, England, Germany, Singapore, Turkey, Egypt, and Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a comparative study that examines the model of family physician implementation in selected countries. Data for each country were gathered from the valid databases, were compared according to the comparative table, and analyzed by a framework approach. In order to assure the validity of data, the researchers referred to the websites of the selected nations' Ministry of Health and also cross-checked the findings with reports published by the World Health Organization. RESULTS: In this study, we used the Control Knobs framework to compare countries' FPPs because the framework can demonstrate all necessary features of national health system programs. This framework includes governance and organization, regulation, financing, payment, and behavior in each country. The results of this study show that although the principles of FPP in the selected countries are almost common, they use different methods in FPP implementation. CONCLUSIONS: As the success of any policy depends on the political, economic, social, and cultural context of each country, considering these factors and reinforcing each of the control knobs are critical to the success of the family physician's policy implementation.

The influential factors for achieving universal health coverage in Iran: a multimethod study

“…Given the importance of “Financing”, not only the WHO considers it as one of the most important requirements for reaching UHC, but also necessitates countries to review their health financing policies [ 2 , 82 , 83 ]. The protection against financial risks in the UHC, an issue that is also mentioned in the framework of control knobs, is highly influenced by the financing of the country’s health system.…”

Prevalence and pattern of acute and chronic multimorbidity across all body systems and age groups in primary health care

“…The German health care system does not foresee gatekeeping, and patients can directly contact any specialist in private practice, who will then be reimbursed by the patient’s health insurer 19 . For this reason, the present data are especially interesting, as they only refer to patients that intentionally sought health care from their general practitioner, and not to patients in the population as a whole.…”

Implementation Challenges of Family Physician Program: A Systematic Review on Global Evidence

“…The trend of specialization among people and physicians, unnecessary referral to specialists, mistrust of family physicians, and induced demands are the cultural problems of societies, especially in countries where the role of the family physician is not well known ( 10 ). Conflict of interests is also reported between family physicians and specialists; there is resistance by specialists against family physicians and their gatekeeping role in some countries like Israel, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Iran, and the USA ( 35 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 74 ). Implementation of any health program is affected by the context and culture of embedding society( 52 ).…”

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