The policy and politics of the 2015 long-term care reform in the Netherlands.

As of 2015 a major reform in LTC is taking place in the Netherlands. An important objective of the reform is to reign in expenditure growth to safeguard the fiscal sustainability of LTC. Other objectives are to improve the quality of LTC by making it more client-tailored. The reform consists of four interrelated pillars: a normative reorientation, a shift from residential to non-residential care, decentralization of non-residential care and expenditure cuts. The article gives a brief overview of these pillars and their underlying assumptions. Furthermore, attention is paid to the political decision-making process and the politics of implementation and evaluation. Perceptions of the effects of the reform so far widely differ: positive views alternate with critical views. Though the reform is radical in various aspects, LTC care will remain a largely publicly funded provision. A statutory health insurance scheme will remain in place to cover residential care. The role of municipalities in publicly funded non-residential care is significantly upgraded. The final section contains a few policy lessons.

[Reform of long-term care in the Netherlands: solidarity maintained?]. / Hervorming van de langdurige zorg: blijft de solidariteit behouden?

The reform of long-term care (LTC) in the Netherlands is a much debated topic. The reform essentially comes down to a shift in healthcare claims and a cutback. As of 1 January 2015, the Long-Term Care Act (WLZ) shall replace the Exceptional Medical Expenses Act (AWBZ). In doing so, parts of the AWBZ will shift to the Health Care Insurance Act (ZVW) and the renewed Social Support Act (WMO 2015), which will be carried out by municipalities. This is a significant change: whereas the AWBZ provides a right to care, the WMO commands delivery of tailor-made support. Care that falls under the WMO is only awarded if the capacity of persons seeking care, among others their financial resources and social network, are insufficient. Higher contributions than in the AWBZ may also be requested. These developments influence the experienced level of solidarity.

The governance of quality management in dutch health care: new developments and strategic challenges.

This article gives a brief sketch of quality management in Dutch health care. Our focus is upon the governance of guideline development and quality measurement. Governance is conceptualized as the structure and process of steering of quality management. The governance structure of guideline development in the Netherlands can be conceptualized as a network without central coordination. Much depends upon the self-initiative of stakeholders. A similar picture can be found in quality measurement. Special attention is given to the development of care standards for chronic disease. Care standards have a broader scope than guidelines and take an explicit patient perspective. They not only contain evidence-based and up-to-date guidelines for the care pathway but also contain standards for self-management. Furthermore, they comprise a set of indicators for measuring the quality of care of the entire pathway covered by the standard. The final part of the article discusses the mission, tasks and strategic challenges of the newly established National Health Care Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland), which is scheduled to be operative in 2013.

Care delivery pathways for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in England and the Netherlands: a comparative study.

INTRODUCTION: A remarkable difference in care delivery pathways for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the presence of hospital-at-home for COPD exacerbations in England and its absence in the Netherlands. The objective of this paper is to explain this difference. METHODS: Descriptive COPD statistics and care delivery pathways on all care levels within the institutional context, followed by a comparison of care delivery pathways and an explanation of the difference with regard to hospital-at-home. RESULTS: The Netherlands and England show broad similarities in their care delivery pathways for COPD patients. A major difference is the presence of hospital-at-home for COPD exacerbations in England and its absence in the Netherlands. Three possible explanations for this difference are presented: differences in the urgency for alternatives (higher urgency for alternative treatment models in England), the differences in funding (funding in England facilitated the development of hospital-at-home) and the differences in the substitution of tasks to nurses (substitution to nurses has taken place to a larger extent in England). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The difference between the Netherlands and England regarding hospital-at-home for COPD exacerbations can be explained in three ways. Hospital-at-home has proved to be a safe alternative for hospital care for selected patients, and should be considered as a treatment option for COPD exacerbations in the Netherlands.

Utilization of family planning services by married Sudanese women of reproductive age.

To explore differences in utilization of family planning services and predisposing factors, we surveyed 601 women from urban and rural areas of Khartoum state. About half were using modern family planning techniques; there were no significant differences in utilization rates between urban and rural settings. Contraceptive pills were the most frequently used modern method (47.7%) followed by intrauterine devices (10.2%) and injections (7.5%). Breastfeeding was used by around 33% of both groups. The rhythm method and withdrawal were more often used by urban women (22.2% and 8.6% respectively) than rural women (16.1% and 3.6% respectively). Use of male methods (condom; sterilization) was extremely low. Socioeconomic status, knowledge and education level were the most important determinants of using modern methods.

Utilization of family planning services by married Sudanese women of reproductive age

To explore differences in utilization of family planning services and predisposing factors, we surveyed 601 women from urban and rural areas of Khartoum state. About half were using modern family planning techniques; there were no significant differences in utilization rates between urban and rural settings. Contraceptive pills were the most frequently used modern method [47.7%] followed by intrauterine devices [10.2%] and injections [7.5%]. Breastfeeding was used by around 33% of both groups. The rhythm method and withdrawal were more often used by urban women [22.2% and 8.6% respectively] than rural women [16.1% and 3.6% respectively]. Use of male methods [condom; sterilization] was extremely low. Socioeconomic status, knowledge and education level were the most important determinants of using modern methods

Opinions on changes in the Romanian health care system from people's point of view: a descriptive study.

After 10 years of changes, the Romanian people were asked to assess the consequences of the reforms that were carried out through the health care system in the last decennium. This article studies the opinion of changes among individuals and socio-economic-demographic groups living in Dolj region. Such surveys are rare in Romania. People show to have different opinions on quality of care, accessibility and on attitudes of politicians to health care comparing the present state of affaires with the past one. Overall the people judge the actual situation preferable to the past. The elderly, the chronically ill and the people who believe that people were happier 10 years ago have a more critical view on the changes especially in terms of accessibility. The higher educated people have a more positive opinion on the consequences of the reforms. The results may help to improve the communication between policy makers and the population. It is suggested that the involvement of the citizens in the health care reforms may realize a better implementation of Romanian health care reforms. This involvement is lacking.