Health System Innovations in Central America: Lessons And the Impact of New Approaches

by La Forgia, Gerard M.

• ISBN13: 9780821362785
• ISBN10: 082136278X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-01
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

Similar to developing countries elsewhere, during the 1990s, Central American countries faced pressures to improve the performance of their health systems. In most countries, there was a consensus that the systems were failing to live up to their potential. Rather than take on system-wide change, each country opted to step into reform through launching innovations to address specific problems or deficiencies in a particular program, function or intervention of the system.'Health Systems Innovations in Central America' reports on how these experiences fared-a hospital in Panama, a nutrition program in Honduras, primary care extension in Guatemala, a subset of hospitals and primary care units in Costa Rica and a social security-managed health care program in Nicaragua. The studies report on the performance of the innovations, the policy environment in which they were developed as well as nuts-and-bolts features and processes incorporated into their design and implementation.

Table of Contents

Foreword	v
Acknowledgments	vii
Acronyms and Abbreviations	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
Monique Vledder
Gerard M. La Forgia
Is the Perfect the Enemy of the Good? A Case Study on Large-Scale Contracting for Basic Health Services in Rural Guatemala	9	(40)
Gerard M. La Forgia
Patricia Mintz
Carmen Cerezo
Contracting for Basic Health Care in Rural Guatemala---Comparison of Performance of the Performance of Three Delivery Models	49	(40)
Isabel Danel
Gerard M. La Forgia
The San Miguelito Hospital Reform in Panama---Evaluation and Lessons	89	(20)
Ricardo Bitran
Cecilia Ma
Paulina Gomez
Contracting Primary Health Care Services---The Case of Costa Rica	109	(26)
James Cercone
Rodrigo Briceno
Varun Gauri
The Nicaraguan Social Security Health Insurance Scheme---A Promising Work in Progress	135	(38)
John L. Fiedler
Gerard M. La Forgia
A New Dimension for Health Reform---The Integrated Community Child Health Program in Honduras	173	(24)
Marcia Griffiths
Judith S. McGuire
Improving Efficiency and Impact in Health Care Services---Lessons from Central America	197	(12)
Maureen Lewis
Contributors	209