Modern Models of Polyclinic Management: Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction. The system of primary health care (PHC) has drastically evolved in the last few years due to the novel challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global community has developed new approaches for using modern technologies to quickly make decisions and promote primary prevention, new software tools and applications for patients, general practitioners, and doctors in training, and new roles for PHC team members to support general practitioners and deliver health care to a larger part of the population. The growing population’s needs should be met through the efficient organization of a primary care-oriented system. In order to have timely, high-quality medical care, national authorities and healthcare organizations providing primary care are engaged in PHC management. Materials and methods. The review was prepared using reporting guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). The search was conducted in the bibliographic databases eLibrary, PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar for the following keywords: functional-target operating model, primary health care, management in primary health care, management of polyclinics in the countries of the world, lean polyclinic, and medical prevention. In addition, authors analyzed and structured the information on Russian and foreign regulations and guidelines from the official websites of WHO, the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, etc. Results and discussion. The World Healthcare Organization developed the target operational framework for PHC, including the main characteristics of models for healthcare organization and primary care provision. The model of medical care organization is adapting to the changing goals and priorities of the global community in healthcare. Conclusion. The current tendencies in PHC organization are prevention, digitalization, resource optimization, teamwork, and the transfer of functional responsibilities to non-medical specialists. Each country chooses its own model, system, and program of PHC provision depending on the population’s needs for medical services. Many of the developed models have already proven their efficiency.