Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The family doctor system advanced by the World Bank’s Group (WBG) within the framework of Health Sector Reform Project (HSRP) in Azerbaijan can encounter problems with its legislative registration.

MP Elmira Ahundova, a member of the Parliamentary Social Policy Committee, says that a talk about adoption of a family (district) doctor took place but then for some reason died out.

Another MP, on the condition of confidentiality, spoke against adoption of the Law on Family Doctor. In his view, first it is needed to apply in parallel the valid system of district doctors and the offered system of family doctor in a range of pilot Baku districts.

“If the latter show its efficiency without external support (as within the WB project this system can be created “hothouse” conditions) over the existing system, then one can think of its introduction and adoption of a special law,” this MP said.

Within HSRP the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan has already attracted additional (besides projects) resources to develop legal bases of activity in this direction, in particular, the resources of United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

At the same time the special law On Family Doctor is not planned to pass. For the time being, for this there are enough orders of the Ministry of Health. The issues of the legislative regulating were put off for long-term prospect, when the family doctors system will be formed.

By the present the Health Ministry defined only officially the availability of new medical specialty – a family doctor in the country. It defined the staff and rate of family doctors which will be determined out of functioning doctors of general profile.

The chosen 10 specialists who completed fastened training courses in Turkish Haci Tepe University will undertake training of family doctors in the pilot regions of the project.

Despite the presence of approximately 300 specialists in the country, who passed retraining courses for family doctor, they cannot work as family doctors currently.

The Ministry of Health prepares in parallel standard documents for activity of family doctors and works out the system of their certification, accreditation and licensing.

The task of family doctors will be supervision, diagnosis and preventive treatment of widespread diseases at primary (lower) level in order not to bring these diseases to the tertiary (hospitals) level.

HSRP in Azerbaijan with a share of $50 million is the largest investment of WBG in country’s social sector. The overall cost of project makes $86.75 million, and 83% of its budget will be spent directly on development of medical and social services, 14% on management at the level of central administration and 3% on management with compulsory medical payments.

The project consists of 5 basic components:

- To strengthen administrative potential of the Ministry of Health, create politics, planning and regulation department.

- To improve medical services, their quality, availability and efficiency in 5 pilot districts that includes strengthening of primary level of rendering medical aid and building of 3 district hospitals, strengthening connection between the primary and second parts of health protection.

- Reforms financing health protection - concentration of fund in the single financing source, transfer to per capita financing of primary part, payment of stationary medical aid in fact of fulfilled works.

- To strengthen personnel potential due to the improvement of training before diploma and re-training after diploma of medical specialists.

- Permanent monitoring of fulfillment of put objectives from the day of signing an agreement and till completion of realization of the project.

16.11.2009 09:57