CURRENT TRENDS IN HEALTH SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT – WHAT COULD BE USED FOR THE ROMANIAN HEALTH SYSTEM?.

THE HEALTH STATUS OF THE ROMANIAN POPULATION AND THE HEALTH SYSTEM RESOURCES ARE BEHIND THE EU AVERAGES, SITUATION WHICH COULD BE SIMILAR TO OTHER MEMBER STATES FROM CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE, BUT MORE DETRIMENTAL IN SOME AREAS. A HEALTH SISTEM PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT (HSPA) HAS NOT ROUTINELY PERFORMED IN ROMANIA AT PRESENT. THIS PAPER AIMED TO DESCRIBE THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPTS AND METHODS USED GLOBALLY FOR THE HEALTH SYSTEMS’ PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND TO EXPLORE THE COUNTRY CONTEXT FOR CREATING A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK IN THIS SENSE. WE PERFORMED A LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC PAPERS AND GREY LITERATURE RELEVANT FOR THE TOPIC AND ALSO AN EXPLORATION OF THE NATIONAL LEGISLATION ON HEALTH AND HEALTH SYSTEM AND OF THE NATIONAL DATABASES INCLUDING HEALTH DATA. WE FOUND THAT HSPA IS A TOPIC OF HUGE INTEREST AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL AND IN EU, WITH MANY EXAMPLES OF FRAMEWORKS FOR HSPA DEVELOPED DURING THE LAST TWO DECADES. MANY COUNTRIES ARE PERFORMING HSPA AT PRESENT, BUT WITH WIDE HETEROGENEITY. ONE TOPIC INCLUDED RECENTLY IN HSPA IS HEALTH SYSTEM’S RESILIENCE. IN ROMANIA, DESPTE A WELL STATED PROCESS OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE HOSPITAL LEVEL, THE HSPA PROCESS IS IN AN EARLY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. THERE IS NOW AN EXTREMELY FAVORABLE MOMENTUM TO DEVELOP A NATIONAL HSPA FRAMEWORK DUE TO THE POLITICAL COMMITMENT FOR IMPROVING HEALTH SYSTEM RESILIENCE AND PERFORMANCE. AND ALSO DUE TO THE EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES TO FINANCE THE REFORM OF THE HEALTH SYSTEM AND ITS DIGITALIZATION THROUGH DIFFERENT EU FUNDED PROGRAMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]