May 2021

USAID Health Reform Support Newsletter

Improving
Health Care Providers’
Financial Knowledge
to Operate Successfully under
the New Financing Reforms
Under the current health care reforms, a new case-based financing system, entitled the
Program of Medical Guarantees (PMG), pays hospitals directly based on the diagnosis
of the patient, rather than through central budget line items. This change requires a
major shift in the financial and administrative activities of specialized health care (SHC)
providers to implement financial reforms successfully.
To address this issue, in May 2021 USAID Health Reform Support (HRS) conducted five
online training courses on financial and legal issues related to the implementation of the
PMG that involved approximately 76 participants from 26 organizations (health facilities
and local government agencies) across Ukraine.
These events equipped participants with new skills in financial planning, effective facility
management, and financing models to operate their health facilities as not-for-profit
enterprises. The training courses covered labor legislation for enterprises, economic
analyses, and introducing paid services at the SHC facility level. A comparison of survey
responses before and after the trainings demonstrated that participants improved their
knowledge of financial and legal issues by an average of 30%.

“ ”
“During the training, each health professional learned something new that is applicable to their everyday work. Accountants and
economists learned the algorithms for implementing paid services and new methods of economic analysis for the enterprise.
Representatives from legal and personnel departments of hospitals studied the regulatory framework for transforming facilities
into a non-for-profit enterprise and learned from the experiences of colleagues that went through this transition. The training
helped me structure previously obtained knowledge and gain new knowledge that will help me make better management
decisions for my facility.” – Svitlana Boiko, Head of the Drabiv Multidisciplinary Hospital of Drabiv Village Council of the
Cherkasy Region.

With these advanced skills, SHC providers will be able to effectively operate under the PMG, which will enable them to continue to provide government-funded health
care services to patients in Ukraine and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the reforms.

Launching an Educational Program

for Health Care Providers on
eHealth Personal Data Protection
to Make the Digital Transformation
of the Ukrainian Health Care System
More Secure

In May 2021, HRS developed online lectures for a Personal Data Protection Certificate Online Course within the electronic health (eHealth) system. This course will
run on the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU)’s online educational platform for health care providers across the country. Developed in partnership with the
NHSU Academy and the eHealth State Owned Enterprise (SOE), the course aims to develop the participating providers’ baseline knowledge around using eHealth digital
technologies, both in terms of protecting patients’ personal data and increasing the providers’ capacity to operate effectively and efficiently under the current reforms.
By early June 2021, 1,949 health care professionals registered for the course and will begin their distance learning with a lecture on the protection of personal data with
respect to the constitutional rights of citizens. Ukrainian experts in the field will teach participants what types of patient data are considered personal and sensitive, the
roles and responsibilities of health professionals in processing patient data, and cases where patients’ rights to protection of personal and sensitive data have been violated.

“ ”
“This educational program is designed to help health professionals learn the key aspects of legislation on personal data protection.
It will also equip them with tools that they can use while making records in the eHealth system and working with patient’s data
on a regular basis. If you want to confidently handle patients’ personal data, this course will help you gain the relevant knowledge
and skills” – Svitlana Kryvda, Head of the Personal Data Protection Department of the NHSU.

In addition to best practices for data protection, the course will teach participants about the legal consequences for employees that violate a patients’ data rights, how to
properly receive a patient’s informed consent to use his/her data, and how to ensure the proper protection of patients’ personal and sensitive data when providing medical
services and making corresponding records in the eHealth system.
Overall, the course consists of 11 distance learning lectures that will be available on the NHSU Academy educational platform for all physicians and nurses that registered
for the course. The course does not require specialized knowledge of health law or information technologies. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will
be sent an electronic certificate signed by representatives of the NHSU and SOE. This certificate will allow the course participant to receive credits toward the Continuous
Professional Development requirement for medical professionals.
This educational course will address existing knowledge gaps for health care providers related to optimizing data security and minimizing the chances of a data breach within
the new eHealth system. This course will strengthen the security of data within the eHealth system, ensuring greater public trust and security of patient data.

Strengthening
900 Health Care Facilities
to Deliver High-Quality Services
Across Ukraine
With the online course entitled “Best Practices for Health Care Facility Management”,
HRS helped health care managers from 900 health care facilities (HCF) across Ukraine
to guide their facilities through operational changes, refocus on patient-centered care,
and improve the quality of medical services provided.
Launched in June 2020 with the support of the Academy of the NHSU, the distance
learning program equipped 3,500 doctors with core competencies of health system
leadership and useful management approaches to successfully implement health care
reforms.
Through 34 webinars that covered 22 topics in health care facility management,
practical assignments, and constant mentorship support:
• 634 participants improved their knowledge and gained points toward their annual Continuous Professional Development requirements;
• 86 HCFs created quality control groups, 62 of these facilities also developed indicators to assess the quality of medical services provided to patients;
• 40 facilities improved the efficiency of contact centers that work with patients; and
• 63 hospitals and primary health care centers designed future activities that will enhance the provision of patient-centered medical care.

“ ”
“I became a participant of the course because I wanted to improve my skills as a manager and to increase the efficiency of medical
care at the facility. The course paid off. The course equipped us with a bunch of new knowledge that improved service delivery and
helped us to become a more competitive facility in the region. Equipped with new skills of quality and financial management, the
facility is successfully implementing health care reforms. The team of the Sniatyn Primary Health Care Center is grateful to HRS for
creating such a great educational platform and we are looking forward to participate in the next HRS initiative for HCFs” – Andriy
Fedusiv, Deputy Director of the Medical Care of the Population Department of the Sniatyn Primary Health Care Center.

As part of this course, HRS awarded ten out of 40 HCF teams that presented the best proposals on how to improve the functioning of their facility with a $6,000 grant to
procure equipment or services needed to successfully implement these plans. This activity will help health care specialists solve current issues related to quality and delivery of
care, improve collaboration between primary and specialized HCFs, and learn how to provide patient-centered medical care to patients.
By developing this course, HRS filled a gap in current HCF management by providing modern management approaches that are patient-centric and deliver high quality and
efficient care. The long-term goal of the course is to cultivate a new generation of health care leaders that can modernize the health system by promoting high quality care and
patient satisfaction.

info@hrs.net.ua
STAY TUNED FOR NEW CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN tel: + 38 044 281 23 66
52 A Bogdana Khmelnytskoho St., 5th Floor
THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM OF UKRAINE 01030 Kyiv, Ukraine

This newsletter is made possible by the support of the American and British People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and through the UK Good Governance Fund/UK Government (UK aid).
The contents of this newsletter are the sole responsibility of Deloitte Consulting, LLP and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, UK aid, or the UK government’s official policies.
This newsletter was prepared under Contract Number 72012118C00001.