Baku, Azerbaijan, May 6
By Sara Israfilbayova – Trend:
Medical institutions of Azerbaijan operating in compliance with the quality standards of medical services will be able to receive additional funding from the State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance (MHI) in accordance with the quality index, a spokesperson of the agency told Trend.
It was noted that the Agency, together with the Ministry of Health, had begun work on the quality standards of medical services provided in public medical institutions in order to ensure their compliance with international standards.
"During 2020, the introduction of 20 standards is envisaged, and it is planned to increase the number of standards to 200 in the coming years," the spokesperson noted.
According to the agency, work is currently underway to prepare a set of, and tarifs for, the services available to the population within the scope of mandatory health insurance. As reported, "one of the important tasks is to regulate the incomes of health workers in accordance with the requirements of the labor market. As of now, work in this direction is nearing its end."
It was further noted that a preliminary assessment of medical institutions was carried out and, as a result, an action plan was developed for 2019.
“In accordance with the action plan, it is planned to carry out the necessary work on the digitization of medical institutions and the widespread introduction of information technologies. In addition, it is planned to hold a number of trainings to increase the knowledge and improve the skills of medical workers to ensure smooth transition of medical institutions to the mandatory health insurance system,” the spokesperson added.
A pilot project on MHI has been implemented in Azerbaijan since late 2016. It currently covers the city of Mingachevir and the Yevlakh and Aghdash districts.
Polls conducted for determining the attitude of residents to the use of MHI revealed that 88 percent of respondents in Mingachevir, 79 percent of respondents in Yevlakh and 86 percent of respondents in Aghdash expressed a positive opinion.
The introduction of mandatory health insurance throughout Azerbaijan will begin in 2020.
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