WHO/Europe launched 2 PHC Demonstration Platforms in 2022 – 1 in Kazakhstan and 1 in Sweden. The Platform in Kazakhstan demonstrates the transformation from a biomedical model to a holistic, multidisciplinary team-based model with strong elements of mental health care and social work. The recently launched Platform in Sweden demonstrates a model of PHC service delivery in a remote, sparsely populated area that integrates digital solutions with face-to-face service delivery to bridge access gaps.
The WHO PHC Demonstration Platform experience
PHC Demonstration Platforms are set up to showcase well performing PHC systems. They demonstrate how host countries have reorganized their model of care and aligned system enablers, such as governance and human resources, to support the new model.
The PHC Demonstration Platform experience is structured as a 4- to 5-day visit connecting national and regional policy-makers and practitioners from the host and visiting countries. Visiting countries learn about the vision and model of PHC in the host country, and have opportunities to engage with change-makers to gain practical understanding of how to turn a vision into reality by overcoming implementation barriers.
In this way, visiting delegations can learn more about the implementation of PHC transformation and discover ways to harness the experiences of other countries. The WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care tailors the programme to the current needs and context of the visiting country, and provides technical support for further implementation.
PHC Demonstration Platform in Kazakhstan
The PHC Demonstration Platform in Kazakhstan was launched in March 2022 by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, and Dr Azhar Giniyat, Minister of Health of Kazakhstan.
During the launch, Dr Kluge said, “Tell me, and I will listen; teach me, and I will remember; involve me, and I will learn. This is the approach of the new initiative, the WHO Primary Health Care Demonstration Platform. It goes beyond just writing reports or developing best practice guidelines. It shows countries what efficient primary health care looks like in practice and involves them in its processes.”
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan were the first countries to visit Kazakhstan’s Platform. Both delegations were comprised of policy-makers from the countries’ ministries of health, regional health managers, medical university professors, nurses and family doctors.
During the multiday visits in March and September 2022, the guest delegations participated in tailored training programmes at the Enbekshikazakh Primary Health Care Centre of Excellence in Almaty Oblast. They learned first-hand how the district is transforming the PHC system in rural areas through expanded multidisciplinary PHC teams.
The groups discussed how these best practices from Kazakhstan can be adapted to the realities and needs of their countries, how to overcome implementation barriers, how to build on success factors, and how to bring together the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, including service users, to strengthen their PHC systems.
PHC Demonstration Platform in Sweden
Sweden is a PHC pioneer not only in bringing services closer to all people, but also in addressing the root causes of diseases with innovative solutions. The country’s PHC Demonstration Platform, based in Västerbotten County in Southern Lapland, was presented to the world on 18 October 2022.
The Platform shows how PHC can adapt to the contexts and needs of rural, sparsely populated and remote areas like Southern Lapland by expanding the scope of practice of general practitioners and nurses and applying innovative and remote delivery solutions, including drone technology and a wide range of telemedicine applications.
This successful model combines face-to-face, digital and mobile delivery of expanded PHC services through multiple platforms. Patients receive support in navigating their care pathways seamlessly, and are empowered to self-manage based on their needs with a range of digital solutions. This is supported by strong system enablers such as financing and health workforce policies.
Such system-wide innovation requires active and supportive leadership and a collaborative culture of diverse stakeholders. These factors make Sweden’s Platform an excellent example for countries that have embarked on far-reaching PHC reforms for rural and remote populations.
Georgia was the first country to visit the Platform in Sweden. PHC reform is high on the country’s agenda to move towards universal health care and better health outcomes. The future model of rural health care in Georgia involves moving from single rural practices towards network-based PHC with the integration of telehealth and telemedicine solutions. The study visit to Sweden provided excellent opportunities to develop a nuanced design of the new model.
WHO PHC Demonstration Platforms are open for questions and visits from other countries of the WHO European Region with the support and coordination of the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care.