Pre-conference: Bridging Primary Care and Public Health: Revisiting the priorities of practitioners in the aftermath of COVID-19

Wednesday 9 November, 9:00 – 12:30 CET in Gamma 8-9 (followed by network lunch)

Organised by:

EUPHA Health services research section (EUPHA-HSR). Co-organised by: European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC), Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin – Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Working Group Health Policy and Systems Research and Innovation (WG HPSRI), German Public Health Association - DGPH Section Research (DGPH FB FO), German Network Health Service Research, WG International Health Services Research (DNVF WG IHSR)

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has put all levels of health care under extreme pressure. Primary care practitioners (PCPs) are at the first point of contact to the health care system in the acute COVID-19 infectious phase, as well as for Long-COVID and including post-COVID-19 care. The interconnectedness of public health protection, prevention of infection and promotion of health and good health behaviors, prevention of disease progression, early diagnosis, treatment and cure, as well as the rehabilitation of COVID-19, has made clear that the collaboration amongst public health, general practice and rehabilitation sectors is crucial. In some countries the lack of clear clinical patient pathways, as well as the limited use of digital resources i.e., for communication and data collection, were identified as a structural barrier. As the pandemic continued, the workload of the PCPs increased, because of the high patient numbers and workload, but also because of the direct impact on members of the public health and healthcare workforce in terms of tackling personal challenges, progressive exhaustion, trauma, and many other factors. Constantly changing health policies, regulations, and recommendations, combined with the lack of clinical algorithms, increased the uncertainty even further. Furthermore, with the persistence of the pandemic, the number of cases of Long-/Post-COVID-19 reported continues to increase making the work of PCPs even more difficult. Supporting PCPs in being prepared to deal with the current and future demand is needed. It is also important to involve PCPs in the generation of real-world-evidence (RWE). This is a critical aspect of technology assessment, evidence-based practice, and evidence-informed decision-making, as it can contribute to health services research, improve service provision and reduce uncertainty.

Such involvement can also contribute to the establishment of meaningful partnerships, including cross-sectorally and on a cross-border basis, inform the allocation of resources and the direction of investment. It can ultimately facilitate sound priority setting towards the achievement of the health systems goals at primary care level and for increased resilience across all levels of care.

The aim of this preconference is to share the perspectives and experiences from primary care and public health in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and elaborate on the management of Long-/Post-COVID-19 in primary care and public health, exploring priorities for health policy including investment and financing in primary care and public health.

The pre-conference is structured in four thematic blocks with moderated discussions. There will be an invigorating 30-min coffee break halfway into the session. Also, an 1-hour networking lunch following the completion of the session for all participants to round up the event.

The session will start by presenting the perspectives of GPs and the case example of PHC service provision by a PCPs’ Network in the most rural area in North East Germany. These will be discussed in the view of the possibilities of preventing of health disparities while addressing the health and societal challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic including the role of PCPs in supporting research and generating value. We will expand the focus to explore the topic of financing and investing in public health, in health promotion, the impact on task sharing and innovation and necessary healthcare reforms.

Presenters and the audience will have the opportunity at the end of each block to share country experiences including their experience and views on current and future roles of PCPs and how these can be realized at local, regional and EU-wide level.

Programme

Welcome and Introduction to the programme by the Chair persons Lorena Dini, Vice President of EUPHA-HSR and Elena Petelos, Vice President of EUPHA-HTA.

Block 1 (40 Min): Perspectives of Physicians regarding COVID-19 and Long-COVID-19

Chair: Christoph Heintze, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Framing and introduction to the topic by the Chair of the block (3 min)
COVID-GAMS - The COVID-19 crisis and its impact on ambulatory care in Germany - perspectives from practice owners (10 min), Nadine Scholten
Utilization and provision of health care in German GP practices during the COVID-19-pandemic. (10 min), Susanne Döpfmer
Long-/Post-Covid-19 – Perspectives from family doctors and pediatricians on experiences and need for information – results from a nationwide survey in Germany (10 min), Lorena Dini
Q&A moderated by the Chair of the block (7 min)

Block 2 (30 min): Primary Care Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Chair: Diederik Aarendonk, European Forum for Primary Care

Framing and introduction to the topic by the Chair of the block (3 min)
Delivering value in rural areas: The role of the Physicians Networks in rural Germany – Haffnet 20 years of integrated care approach and the COVID-experience (15 min), Sabine Meinhold and Tomas Nadler
The Austrian PHC Platform – connecting community, policy and research (7 min) Sarah Burgmann
Q&A moderated by the Chair of the block (5 min)

Coffee Break (30 min)

Block 3 (30 min): The Roles of GPs in value generation: population healthcare research and social responsibilities

Chair: Elena Petelos

Framing and introduction to the topic by the Chairs (3 min)
Practice-based research to help define value in primary care (10 min), Leonor Heinz
The role of GPs in preventing the increase in health disparities (10min), Maria van den Muijsenbergh
Q&A moderated by the Chairs (7 min)

Block 4 (70 Min): Reforms in organization and financing of care and investing in public health and the role of GPs in HSR

Chair: Lorena Dini

Framing and introduction to the topic by the Chairs (3 min)
The Family Physician: the patient, the population... or both? Financing GPs, bridging person-centered with population-based care (20 min), Jan De Maeseneer
Investment for health promotion and disease prevention (20 min), Joanna Lane
Realising the potential of primary care (20 min), Nicola Brandt
Moderated Discussion by the Chairs (7 min)

12:25: Open discussion, conclusions and closing by the Chairs

Chairs and speakers

Lorena Dini – Vice-President EUPHA-Health services research section (EUPHA-HSR) Head of Working Group Health Policy and Systems Research and Innovation (WG HPSRI), Institute of General Practice, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Advisory Board Member European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC), Speaker of the German Public Health Association - DGPH Section Research (DGPH FB FO), Speaker of the German Network Health Service Research Working Group International Health Services Research (DNVF- WG IHSR).

Elena Petelos – Vice-President EUPHA Health technology assessment section (EUPHA-HTA), Member of the Steering Committee of the EUPHA Infectious disease control section (EUPHA-IDC), Advisory Board Member European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC), Co-Chair of Real-World Evidence and Artificial Intelligence IG at HTAi, Member of the Healthcare Professionals’ Working Party (HCPWP) at the European Medicines Agency, Lecturer in EMB and Research Fellow in Public Health, University of Crete and Maastricht University.

Nicola Brandt, Head of the OECD Berlin Centre with experience in advising countries on a wide range of economic and social policy areas.

Jan De Maeseneer, Professor emeritus at Ghent University - Belgium, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Head WHO Collaborating Centre for Family Medicine and Primary Health Care-Ghent University, Chair of the Expert Panel on Effective Ways of Investing in Health (EXPH) advising the European Commission (EC).

Susanne Döpfmer, Family Doctor, Institute of General Practice, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin; Project lead of the Practice Based Research Network East (RESPoNsE).

Leonor Heinz, Family Doctor, German Foundation of General Practice and Family Medicine, Initiative of German Practice-Based Research Networks – DESAM-ForNet, Director of the Coordination Office.

Joanna Lane, Founder and Managing Director Stichting Health ClusterNET (Amsterdam), Professor Centre for Health & Technology, University of South-Eastern Norway, Senior EU Adviser at Norway Health Tech, REGIO-CEI-AMI Senior Expert.

Sabine Meinhold, Family Physician, Medical Director of Haffnet, Representative of Family Physicians in the Regional Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Nadine Scholten, Stellvertretende Institutsleitung, MVR - Institut für Medizinsoziologie, Versorgungsforschung und Rehabilitationswissenschaft der Humanwissenschaftlichen Fakultät und der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität zu Köln (KöR).

Maria van den Muijsenbergh, GP, Professor of Health Disparities and person centered integrated primary care, Radboud University Medical Center Department of Primary and Community Care, Chair of the European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC).

Sarah Burgmann, Health Expert at the Austrian National Public Health Institute and Deputy Head of the Unit “Coordination of Primary Healthcare Issues”, Coordinator of the Austrian PHC Platform, Advisory Board member of the European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC)

Registration

The registration fee is € 75 which includes networking lunch and refreshments.

Pre-conference can be booked at your account.

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Satellite Event: Population health management meets value based care: sustainable business models for optimized healthcare services

Organised by European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC) and EUPHA Health Services Research section (EUPHA-HSR)

Tuesday, 8 November 2022, 14:30 – 18:30 PM. Venue: Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus, Room „Bernhard von Langenbeck“, Luisenstr. 58/59, 10117 Berlin

With the increasing need to consolidate efforts and resources in the healthcare sector, value-based care is gaining momentum. It has become an important tool in improving healthcare services by focusing on quality and value rather than on the volume of the services offered. In order to deliver value-based care, healthcare providers however need to understand the characteristics of both individual patient needs and the needs of larger groups of patients. In our Satellite Event to the EPH Conference we thus would like to explore the connections between population health management and value-based care in order to improve healthcare outcomes and kindly invite you to join our discussion on 8 November in Berlin.

Registration to the satelite event: click here

More information about satelite event: click here