Belgian hospital directors warn of healthcare crisis and call for reform
The Belgian Association of Hospital Managers issued a warning on Thursday indicating the pressures facing the country's healthcare system. In a report, the association called for urgent reforms to address rising care demands, acute staff shortages and mounting financial pressures that threaten the system’s sustainability.
“There is an urgent need for a new approach to reforming the organisation and financing of the system that puts patients and the highest quality of care at its core," the report says, drawing attention to the current system's inability to handle growing challenges.
To ensure the affordability, efficiency and accessibility of services, the association calls for a transition to value-based healthcare (VBHC). This model prioritises outcomes that matter to patients by organising care around individual needs and focusing on prevention. It also aims to use resources more efficiently while maintaining affordability.
“This requires transparency, accelerated digitisation, robust data infrastructure and close cooperation between all parties,” it says.
The managers say that implementing VBHC will require a nationally coordinated strategy, a significant challenge given Belgium’s fragmented healthcare system. Responsibilities are divided among multiple governing bodies, making unified action difficult.
To overcome this obstacle, the association is calling for the creation of a federal coordination body to spearhead the transformation. “Without a clear strategy, Belgium remains stuck in a reactive system rather than adopting a proactive and forward-looking approach,” the report says.
“We are on the brink of a healthcare crisis, and key actors must be convinced of the urgency of a fundamentally different approach.”
Illustration © PHOTO KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
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