Reflections

The past 2 days of conferences have been both inspiring and disheartening. Inspiring because of the plainly visible passion and hard work very intelligent people have poured into their work; disheartening because despite all that passion and insight, human resources for healthcare (HRH) still remains such a big problem throughout the world.

A number of good points about HRH have been raised which I had previously not considered. One that was especially pertinent for the research we are doing was the point that in working to increase the supply of private sector doctors, one should ensure that those doctors aren’t simply being poached from the public sector. In other words, measuring increases in the quantities of doctors in a health system should take into account that some of them may simply have been redistributed. What this means for our work is that in identifying and accessing these high-quality models of, in my case, insurance schemes, some kind of metrics measuring this exact issue should be included.

Another point raised in a number of talks was the idea that monetary compensation isn’t the only factor in retaining healthcare workers. To be sure it is an important factor, but after a certain level other factors such as working environment, sufficiency of medical supplies, and the prospect for further advancement come into play. This means that those vertically integrated insurance schemes we have identified should be accessed through these work-quality lenses as well-- all things to reflect more upon in the coming days.