부산대학교 도서관

Balancing the primary and secondary care in provision of health care services is a challenge for all health care systems. In recent years, both the pressure from changing demographic and disease patterns and from increasing demand for better health outcomes have urged governments to reconsider integrating these two health care levels. Integration also has an impact from health economics and health policy perspectives. Pressures to control ever increasing health care expenditures and to satisfy the health care needs of populations and achieving this with minimum inputs and maximum outcomes have long been on the agendas of health policy makers. Each country applied its own solutions based on the requirements of their system and expectations from different stakeholders. The Turkish health care system has also been influenced by the current health economics and health policy trends. The system has undergone a radical reform process since 2003 and after a decade long experiences with the reforms the outcomes have started to be evaluated. The government introduced new measures in financing and provision of health care services, which changed the outlook of the primary and secondary level of care to a great extent. The differences in demographic characteristics of the population and burden of disease have resulted in either introducing distinct policies from other European countries or following the footsteps of these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]