The Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (APO) in collaboration with RESYST have undertaken a study investigating the purchasing arrangements for health care financing systems of China, Indonesia and the Philippines.The research used a common protocol with the multi-country purchasing study conducted by RESYST in India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam.
The studies aimed to:
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describe the current purchasing mechanisms in participating countries
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critically assess the existing purchasing performance in the promotion of financial risk protection and the provision of equitable health services
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identify factors that enable or hinder effective purchasing and potential mechanisms to address these factors
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make policy recommendations to promote effective purchasing arrangements for universal coverage.
Each country case study focused on existing purchasing mechanisms and actual practice to assess the performance of health care purchasers and identify factors that influence performance by using a framework that examines relationships between different actors: purchaser – citizens, purchaser – provider, and purchaser – government.
The collaboration between RESYST and APO has facilitated extensive cross-country comparisons and analysis of the research to draw out common findings and policy implications across contexts. It has also brought together experts’ extensive knowledge of purchasing and health systems financing, providing opportunities to contribute significantly to the evidence-base in the field and the current international UHC global agenda.
