An annual increase of 1.4% of gross domestic product in health investment, relative to spending in 2019, will increase the sector’s resilience to crises such as that of Covid-19, a study released this week points out. Thursday.
The report “Ready for the Next Crisis? Investing in Health System Resilience”, from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, to which Portugal belongs), analyzes “lessons learned” from that pandemic and includes policy recommendations for countries to be better able to to weather the next crisis.
Declared by the World Health Organization in March 2020, the pandemic represented “the biggest health crisis” of the last century and showed “three major vulnerabilities” of the system: it was not well prepared, it lacked personnel and investment.
The OECD advocates focusing the increase in investments it recommends to its members on personnel (half of the total), prevention and infrastructure.
“In January 2023, more than 6.8 million deaths from COVID-19 were reported globally. Analysis of excess mortality suggests that up to 18 million people worldwide will have died from the pandemic by the end of 2021”underlines the report, adding that “life expectancy fell in many OECD countries in 2020 and 2021”, alongside “widespread disruptions in society and education” and a drop in GDP “4.7% in economies in 2020” in connection with the organization.
The study reminds of that “pre-existing inequality and chronic disease exacerbated pandemic outcomes”pointing out that the fact that health systems “spend less than 3% of total health expenditure on prevention” has “left many members of the population vulnerable”.
Understaffing, in turn, has “and continues to have limited effective responses to the pandemic”. “Sufficient and well-trained” staff are needed to be “agile in times of crisis, but also to address the backlog of care” and respond to “the substantial increase in mental health needs” .
The number of doctors in Portugal per 1,000 inhabitants in 2019 (or latest year for which data are available) was slightly above the threshold of 3.54, with the OECD average slightly lower, while the number of nurses was slightly below the OECD average . , which fell short of 10, against a threshold of 11.45.
The country’s lack of health workers — whether doctors, nurses or assistants — had a moderate impact on Portugal’s ability to deal with the pandemic, according to the organization.
To increase the supply of professionals during the peaks of the pandemic, Portugal resorted to extending working hours and increasing their workload, relocating them to “places or institutions with greater needs”, eliminating activities that do not related to the covid-19 and the mobilization of more workers, such as students and retirees from the sector.
“In response to the pandemic, many countries have increased their investment in human resources, digital infrastructure and equipment, but this effort will need to continue” if the goal is to “make the next shock less disruptive and costly,” the report said.
Telehealth is considered a “positive transformation”, pointing to the study that “by early 2021, almost one in two adults had consulted their doctor remotely in 22 OECD countries”.
Portugal was one of the countries that used both digital consultations and “private providers” to “increase the volume of non-urgent care” by the National Health Service.
To reduce the impact of future shocks, it is also about promoting the health of the population, retaining and recruiting personnel, collecting and using data. In addition, the OECD recommends promoting international cooperation, noting that “the unparalleled success and speed of COVID-19 vaccine development has saved millions of lives”, as well as the resilience of the supply network (92% of the organization’s countries had difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment, 83% testing equipment and 68% ventilators) and administration and trust.
With regard to this latter recommendation, the report draws attention to the fact that trust in institutions is “necessary for responses from society as a whole”, noting that disinformation “has the potential to undermine”.
In terms of information and knowledge, the pandemic in Portugal has led to changes in “new technologies to improve health data availability, accessibility, sharing or privacy (…) and security protections” and necessary legal reforms.
For the organization, which includes 38 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, which will account for 60% of global GDP by 2021, building the resilience of health systems has “never been more urgent”, taking into account bearing in mind that “the legacy of the pandemic could last for decades”.
In addition, a new pandemic or crises due to antimicrobial resistance, armed conflict and climate change, problems with the financial system, biological, chemical, cyber and nuclear threats and social unrest can present severe challenges.
Limitations due to aging and demographic change are other challenges for health systems and “aggravate the impact of crises”.
The report emphasizes that “smart targeted investments” in health system resilience will benefit societies by ensuring “the foundations are in place for the next crisis”.
“Without these investments, the costs and impact on people will be greater.”
Source: DN
