The International journal of health planning and management
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Int J Health Plann Manage · Jul 2015
ReviewPayment systems and incentives in primary care: implications of recent reforms in Estonia and Romania.
Since the early 1990s, major reform in healthcare has been adopted in former communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe. More than 20 years after, reform in healthcare still draws much interest from policy makers and academics alike. ⋯ We conclude that finding the appropriate mix in paying and incentivizing primary care providers in a transitional context is no easy solution for healthcare policy makers who need to carefully weigh in the advantages and inherent problems of various payment arrangements. In a transitional, rapidly changing healthcare system and society, and a context of financial stringency, the theoretical effects of payment mechanisms may be more difficult to predict and manage than it is expected.