Creating 21st century primary care in Flanders and beyond (2019)

2019, xiv + 58 pages
ISBN 978 92 890 5416 4
This publication is only available online.

Primary health care is the cornerstone of a strong, supportive health system, as was recognized in the 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration and the 2018 Declaration of Astana. It has an important role now in meeting the global United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work for 2019–2023. This report focuses on primary care developments in Flanders, Belgium. Following state reforms in Belgium, the region is now upgrading and integrating its primary care services, aiming to improve their effectiveness and efficiency and the quality of life of both users and providers of those services. It is doing so through careful planning, sustained engagement across society, and systematic, well organized implementation. The report also touches on primary care developments in other parts of Europe – in Catalonia in Spain, Slovenia, Botoșani in Romania and Utrecht in the Netherlands – and concludes with lessons that these different experiences suggest might be useful to others.