116 Preventing overdiagnosis to achieve healthcare sustainability in Egypt as part of the sustainable development goals: strategies towards a high-value healthcare system in Egypt

Résumé

Egypt’s healthcare system is currently undergoing great transformations towards universal health coverage in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030 and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In a country like Egypt with an ever-rising population, limited resources, and several specific health care needs, it is therefore essential to build high-value health systems to improve population health outcomes while making optimal use of the available resources. One key element of reducing waste in healthcare is preventing overdiagnosis to secure the sustainability of our healthcare system. Preventing overdiagnosis by avoiding unnecessary laboratory and imaging diagnostics can reduce preventable harm to individuals and patients and makes healthcare services more affordable to individuals, contributes to societal and economic sustainability by reducing unnecessary costs and health-related expenditures, as well as environmental sustainability through reducing carbon emissions. Accordingly, preventing overdiagnosis is significantly reflected in four main pillars of Egypt’s SDGs as follows: good health and well-being (pillar 3) through reducing unnecessary harm; no poverty (pillar 1) through making diagnostic services more affordable to individuals and reducing catastrophic health expenditures; economic growth (pillar 8) through reducing unnecessary healthcare expenditure through the national health insurance system or out-of-pocket spending, thus supporting economic development; and sustainable cities and communities (pillar 11) through reducing unnecessary carbon emissions and securing environmental sustainability. We present effective strategies to prevent overdiagnosis in healthcare in various domains based on the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) framework: governance, financing, workforce, medicines and technology, service delivery, population health, and environmental sustainability. Key strategies include implementing a rewarding incentive mechanism for healthcare organizations that support preventing overdiagnosis and overtreatment; putting limits on financial coverage of unnecessary diagnostic services within the universal health insurance system; raising awareness for clinicians about the importance of preventing overdiagnosis and overtreatment; integrating clinical decision support systems and standardized diagnostic care sets within electronic medical records for each medical condition; and promoting a culture of stewardship in service delivery to deliver high-value diagnostic and treatment services. Implementing these strategies at the national and institutional levels in Egypt will contribute to successful transformation towards universal health coverage and providing affordable healthcare services, without unnecessary waste of resources and while reducing preventable harms to individuals and patients, towards achieving Egypt’s SDGs.

Citer ce document

Accès au document

Texte intégral en lecture en ligne, réservé aux abonnés SPHAERO et aux membres de l'institution. Se connecter

Auteur(s)

Statistiques

Consultations : 1

Téléchargements : 0