ACCESEBILITY OF MEDICAL SERVICES: ISSUES AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52340/jo.2024.06.07.04Keywords:
Accessibility to Medical Services, Financial Access to Health Care, Medical ServicesAbstract
Access to medical services is the ability to receive medical services when needed. Millions of people in the world, including Georgia, suffer from inadequate access to medical services. Access barriers to medical services are categorized into two types: financial and non-financial. Financial barriers primarily include solvency. Non-financial barriers include geographical accessibility of medical personnel and institutions, cultural and linguistic accessibility, and timely receipt of relevant medical services for those who need them. Among these types, financial and geographical accessibility are most frequently identified as primary challenges.
The main task of the state is to ensure equal geographic and financial access to effective medical services. Since 2013, as a result of the implementation of the universal healthcare program, financial access to medical services has increased in Georgia; however, equal protection from financial risks remains a serious problem. The aim of this paper is to analyze the problems related to financial access to healthcare, which are particularly relevant in the current context.
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