The original article can be found in: The Barbados Advocate By Patricia Thangaraj
An effective health information system is one of the tools needed in order for this sector to become more efficient and this is one of the systems that would soon be available in Barbados.
This is according to Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Joy St. John who delivered remarks at a seminar on the “Cost of Healthcare in Barbados” recently at the hospital.
“A well-functioning health information system is a pre-requisite for implementing the improvements proposed across the healthcare sector. The Ministry has sought proposals to install a patient record information system to meet the critical requirements at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the polyclinics and laboratories. It is expected that funding for this system will be provided by the World Bank and already, the bidding document has been submitted to the bank for approval.”
Conducting a cost analysis is also another issue that stakeholders in this sector would be looking at solutions for, said Dr. St. John.
“Another concern relates to the limited use of cost analysis in the public health sector. Ordinarily, costing is essential for planning and decision making and is of no less important in the public health sector than an epidemiological analysis. The introduction of accrual accounting in the public sector has provided a platform for collecting standardised cost data.”
She stated that two health planners participated in a costing methodologies workshop recently hosted by the Centre for Health Economics and the University of the West Indies (U.W.I.), St. Augustine Campus and it is expected that the “the use of relevant health services and health systems’ software modules will facilitate health systems analysis, costing and financial scenarios which are relevant to our needs in the Ministry of Health.”
Dr. St. John stated that late last year, this Ministry in conjunction with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) hosted an inter-sectoral training workshop on the development of Health Satellite Accounts in Barbados with the main objective being to institute methodological guidelines in order to ensure that the national healthcare system continues to produce expenditure data for both the public and private health sectors as well as making sure that the financial gauge based on continuous household budget survey data and financial indicators based on government records.
“Health Satellite Accounts use this System of National Accounts as its central reference, hence it provides a rational framework through which policy analysis, planners and senior managers can analyse the flow and use of funds, as well as expenditure on specific health products, services and medical care activities. Work is on-going to prepare the health accounts estimates using this methodology.”
