OPTIMIZATION OF HEALTH CARE FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN BULGARIA THROUGH HOME CARE AND ASSISTANCE SERVICES

Abstract

Health care in Bulgaria is based on hospital care. According to the Euro Health Consumer Index for 2016, our country ranks first in terms of hospital stay. However, in small towns and villages, the cost of hospital care is too high and unviable. This calls for the development of a new type of health services to reduce costs and optimize the inclusion of skilled workforce in the social and health sectors. The main purpose of this paper is to examine and analyse the possibilities to reduce healthcare costs through the introduction of a system of integrated health and social services at home, which necessitates the establishment of middle units – Home Care Centres. It examines and analyses the results from a pilot project of the Bulgarian Red Cross, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, which envisaged the provision of integrated home care services for elderly people with chronic diseases and permanent disabilities in the Vratsa region as from the year 2012.