COVID-19 responses in countries with social health insurance: The role of primary care

In social health insurance countries, the response of primary care to the COVID-19 pandemic has received much less attention than hospitals and their struggle to provide sufficient intensive care beds. However, primary care doctors and nurses, have played a central role in addressing the pandemic by diverting patients away from inpatient care and caring for milder cases in the community. Primary care doctors and nurses have worked hard to maintain essential services during the first and second wave of infections by developing remote consultation capacity. What new services were introduced? What flexibility and regulatory support was necessary to adapt to the crisis? What can be learned and retained for future crisis and the development of primary care? Join us in this webinar to learn more about the role of primary care and what lessons we can learn for strengthening health system resilience.

Andrea E. Schmidt, Austrian Public Health Institute

Francois Schellevis, NIVEL, the Netherlands

Pia Vracko, NIJZ, Slovenia

Ewout van Ginneken & Erica Richardson (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies)

Webinar Recording

Click here for the recording