Health Systems Overview

Study Notes

A health system consists of all organizations, people, and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore, or maintain health, as well as compensating for permanent disabilities.
It includes three key components: delivery of health services, activities to enable the delivery of health services, and stewardship activities.
The health system is considered an intermediate social determinant of health.

The original objectives of the health system include promoting a common understanding, addressing new challenges, setting priorities, and addressing questions of health system financiers.
Strengthening WHO's role in health systems in a changing world is also a key objective.

Good health services are those that deliver effective, safe, quality personal and non-personal health interventions to those who need them, when and where needed, with minimum waste of resources.
Health services can be delivered in various settings, including homes, communities, workplaces, and health facilities.

A well-performing health workforce is one that works in ways that are responsive, fair, and efficient to achieve the best health outcomes possible.
Health workers include all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to protect and improve health.
Priorities for health workforce development include national workforce policies, investment plans, advocacy, and norms and standards.

A well-functioning health information system ensures the production, analysis, dissemination, and use of reliable and timely information on health determinants, health system performance, and health status.
Three domains of health information include health determinants, health system performance, and health status.

A well-functioning health system ensures equitable access to essential medical products, vaccines, and technologies of assured quality, safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness.
Priorities for medical products, vaccines, and technologies include norms, standards, policies, reliable procurement, and equitable access.

A good health financing system raises adequate funds for health, ensures people can use needed services, and protects them from financial catastrophe or impoverishment.
Three interrelated functions of health financing include the collection of revenues, pooling of pre-paid revenues, and purchasing.

Leadership and governance involve ensuring strategic policy frameworks exist, combined with effective oversight, coalition-building, regulation, and accountability.
Priorities for leadership and governance include health sector policies, harmonization and alignment, oversight and regulation.

ASEAN is a regional body that promotes health governance through consensus-based decision-making and non-interference in the internal affairs of member countries.
Challenges faced by ASEAN include a lack of economic commitment, limited resources, and the need for better data collection and analysis.
ASEAN also faces coordination challenges with WHO due to its structural split between the regional offices of WHO South-East Asia Regional Office and WHO Western Pacific Regional Office.