Until recently, business had been unable to affect healthcare in communities in any meaningful way. Yes, it was possible to give money to a hospital for renovation or new equipment. However, this did not guarantee better service. Of course, a business owner could open a private outpatient clinic - primary healthcare clinic with family doctors and general practitioners seeing patients. But in that case, it would have been necessary to constantly finance that clinic or introduce medical insurance for employees, which would still require additional funds, since insurance money alone would be insufficient for keeping such medical practice afloat.
Starting this year, adding a medical element to the ecosystem of one’s industry will be much easier. The state is changing the way primary healthcare is financed. Before the reform, budget funds had been available only for municipal and public hospitals, regardless of the quantity and quality of the medical services rendered by them. Now the budget will be paying for the work of the specific doctor responsible for your treatment, whether he or she works at a municipal or private clinic or has one’s own medical practice. The state, represented by the National Healthcare Service of Ukraine (NHSU), is going to pay for medical examination, general tests, treatment, prevention of certain diseases, vaccination, issuance of sick notes and prescriptions under the Affordable Medicines program, and certain other services.
This means that you will be able to visit a family doctor in a private outpatient clinic without having to pay for it – the money from the budget will "follow the patient". Thanks to this, large enterprises and associations of organizations, including IT clusters, will now be able to open NHSU-financed outpatient clinics for their employees.
Here’s how it could look like. A company renovates or builds an outpatient clinic, buys new medical equipment, hires one or more doctors and so on. This outpatient clinic provides medical services to the company’s employees, their families and other residents of the city, and its work is funded by the NHSU. Business can also pay for certain extras not covered by the NHSU, such as flu vaccines or prevention of occupational diseases. The new funding rules will start working in July this year.
Is it difficult and where to begin?
- Conduct a survey among the company's employees and in the community to determine whether there is a need for such a service, what it should look like, what is missing now, where it should be located, what work schedule should it have, etc.
- Decide on the location of the outpatient clinic. Perhaps, you might want it to be close to your place of work or even open it in your company’s building.
- Check if the place meets all the standards. Redo it if necessary: set up ramps, make washrooms for people with disabilities, provide enough space to move around or parking baby carriages, etc.
- Find a suitable doctor or several, in accordance with Healthcare Ministry recommendations: one doctor for no more than two thousand patients. Remember, every employee will still be able to choose whether to go to your outpatient clinic or some other place.
- If the doctor already holds a license, he or she can start working right away. If not, they will need to open their own practice, register their business and get a license. Estimated cost of equipment for one cabinet of a family doctor is 160,000 UAH.
- Then you might want to help the doctor set up the work: organize accounting, provide legal assistance if necessary, or help in connecting to the electronic healthcare system (E-Health), training to use it, etc.
There are already pioneers in this endeavor in Ukraine. A large holding in Vinnytsia Oblast decided to improve healthcare in a small town. They are willing to support existing medical facilities there. In addition, they are also planning to open an outpatient clinic, with the company creating necessary working conditions and further activities supported by the NHSU.
The medical reform will allow business to directly influence the quality of medical services in their respective communities or even cities. This has great potential. After all, health largely determines a person's ability and motivation to work. Moreover, access to quality medical services for employees makes a company a more attractive place to work, which means that more professionals will flock to your business.
