Within the scope of the SIHHAT-II Project, the “Primary and Secondary Health Services Coordination Workshop” was held on June 14–15, 2023.
The aim of the workshop was to establish coordination between both the levels of service and the information systems, thereby developing a coordination model specific to our country.
During the planning of the SIHHAT-II Project, it was observed from the experiences of the SIHHAT-I period, field observation reports, and audit feedback that the lack of information exchange between the primary health services received by a migrant and the secondary services they subsequently accessed placed significant burdens on service delivery, both in terms of staff workload and financial cost. As would be expected, when there is no referral and information system integration between primary and secondary services, patients cannot know which healthcare provider they should access, which in turn brings additional language and cultural barriers for migrants. Furthermore, avoiding repeated tests and diagnostic procedures is of great importance for the more efficient use of national resources.
In this context, the inclusion of an indicator in the “Harmonisation Strategy Document” regarding the development of a coordination system for migrants has also highlighted the necessity of obtaining the views of both the academic community and the relevant institutions and organizations in order to develop such a model.
The workshop program first addressed how the issue is approached globally, evaluating it from the perspectives of service providers, reimbursement agencies and beneficiaries, as well as assessing the ability of health information systems to present integrated data on services between the two levels of care. In addition, with the contributions of participants from various provinces, the situation in the field was presented through both panels and group work. At the end of the workshop, following two days of discussions and exchanges of ideas, and with the support of academics, the aim was to develop a model specific to our country. This model, to be developed with a focus on migrants and in harmony with our national health system, will serve as a support tool for policymakers in developing policies.
In the group work sessions of the “Primary and Secondary Health Services Coordination Workshop”:
•Group 1 addressed coordination in terms of Reproductive Health Services,
•Group 2 addressed coordination in terms of Mental Health Services,
•Group 3 addressed the coordination of Migrant Health Centres with each other and with Secondary Care,
•Group 4 addressed the integration of Health Information Systems.