The structure of The Bahamas' governing bodies in the healthcare sector will have to change if the country is to effectively and efficiently implement universal healthcare (UHC), a study done by the National Health Systems Strengthening Committee suggests.
The study, which was prepared in 2014 but not circulated until recently, outlines key features the authors of the paper recommend the government tackle as it prepares to implement national health insurance.
While the study suggests revamping the country's legislation on healthcare would be one of the top priorities, it also suggested restructuring of the healthcare sector's governing bodies would be prudent in the near-term, as opposed to a legislative overhaul.
"The committee has concluded that although legislative reform will be necessary it would be best to adopt administrative mechanisms that improve the functioning of the Ministry of Health in the initial stages," the report states.
"Such an approach would ensure that legislative changes would be driven by pragmatism and lessons learned from experience on the ground.
"The Bahamas, like its global counterparts, continues to grapple with health system performance," said the report.
"Many of our existing challenges relate to deficits in the governance of the system, services delivery and resource allocation (human and otherwise) that must be addressed to implement UHC in The Bahamas.
"The current healthcare organizational model is characterized as being centralized, predominantly curative and disease-centered. However, the medical literature suggests that such systems are inefficient, offer relatively small gains which are spread unevenly across the population, and are financially unsustainable."
The study also found that The Bahamas does not focus enough on preventative care and has adopted a "disease-based approach to healthcare" that many healthcare systems across the world are moving away from.

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