Page 131 - 20211214_OHKF_Health_Finance_Research_Report_E (1)
P. 131
Stakeholders’ voices
PPP programmes have been set up in the United Kingdom to
reduce waiting times for certain public healthcare services.
The private sector has been encouraged to invest in building
capacity to reduce the waiting times. This allows the private
sector to respond to inadequacies in the public sector.
Academic
Our stakeholders, however, pinpointed that the current political landscape in Hong Kong and
various obstacles in the course of implementing a new voucher scheme will complicate the
process of applying strategic purchasing. Stakeholders pointed out that political momentum
for significant policy reform is often hard to gain or maintain throughout an extended period.
To succeed under these limitations, the Government should modify the proposed Scheme
based on healthcare demand. At the same time, the Government should invest in and
design a vision for future development, including support for future
initiatives in terms of promotion, research, and regulation, rather than roll out
fragmented policies. The Government should give clear directions on important topics such
as payment and liability, beyond ensuring smooth execution and fulfilment of intended
objectives. Efforts must be made for public education and promotion within the community
so that the public has a higher buy-in rate.
Stakeholders’ voices
If you (the Government) don’t have a targeted policy, you’re not
going to get anywhere. I thought that [setting up a policy] was a
really big improvement already. Because when you have a policy,
people can start working on strategic purchasing. The Government
can then convince people step-by-step, by doing focus groups
where people say, “Wow this is great, I wish we had more”. Through
these documentation and research, the Government can build up
evidence to support the continued effort of implementation.
Academic
Strategic purchasing might be the only goal they (the Government)
can achieve under the current political reality–the Government
needs to be aware of this. Nonetheless, they need to set out clear
priorities, a long-term direction, and identify gaps in the
implementation. Be it public-private partnerships or voucher
schemes, they need to remember the gaps in any of these projects
and have a vision to resolve them later.
Academic
129