Using the Package of interventions for rehabilitation in Georgia
Rehabilitation is one of the essential health services for universal health coverage (UHC).
to scale up access to rehabilitation, including the provision of assistive products, countries need to provide rehabilitation services that are accessible to people in need and without the financial burden of out-of-pocket payments.
Developing an accessible rehabilitation service package that incurs no financial hardship is essential – as is defining the sustainable funding sources, specifying the beneficiaries of services, and selecting the authorized service providers and related quality assurance measures.
In many countries less than 50% of the population have access to rehabilitation, and where rehabilitation services are available, payment often has to be made out-of-pocket . Countries integrating rehabilitation into UHC and scaling up access to rehabilitation may need to adopt a stepwise approach. Prioritizing funding for services in terms of what the country can afford to deliver requires decisions as to “what is in and what is out” and “who gets access to what services” . Over time, countries can expand funded services in their efforts to achieve UHC.
To support countries in these endeavours, in 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO)developed the Package of interventions for rehabilitation (PIR) .
This report illustrates the use of the PIR in developing a first rehabilitation service package in Georgia. It demonstrates how the PIR was used to prioritize the target population for this service package, as well as how information on interventions for rehabilitation was used to define the service package, and how the costing of it was informed. Insights into the steps that were taken to implement the service package are also described.
