Health care system and spending in Serbia
Estimation Year
2003-2006
Intended Policy Goals
One of the biggest problems facing health care reformers in Serbia in 2003 was a deficit of reliable data needed to build a baseline of information and enable evidence-based policy making and monitoring within the health sector. Policy-makers realized that if they wanted to develop policies to enhance the performance of their systems, they needed reliable information on the quality of financial resources used for health, their sources and the way they were used. Since National health accounts (NHA) could produce evidence to help policy makers and health managers to understand their health systems and improve their performance, the Serbian Government decided to implement NHA in 2004.
The implementation of NHA in Serbia has resulted in increased transparency of financial flows in the health sector. It was the first time ever that private sector of health care providers had been observed along with the public sector. Before the NHA, data on financial flows within the private sector was provided by Republican Statistical Office; however this data was inadequate and insufficient any assessment of health services provided and their expenditures. Policy makers were impressed with the financial picture NHA could provide and, wanting more transparency and reliability for private as well as public health sector financial data, introduced a new “Fiscal Bill Policy”. The Fiscal Bill Policy represents the major policy impact of NHA, requiring all private and public health providers to provide patients with fiscal invoices. The Bill will provide a foundation for more transparency in the activities of private providers and will aid the public health sector in reducing shady economies. Health policy makers now have a clearer picture of overall financial flows within the health sector that will enable future planning and distribution of funds more reliably.
Source
Dr Milena Gajic-Stevanovic, Head of NHA unit in Public Health Institute of Serbia
