Health Services Trade and the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has overwhelmed the capacity of some domestic healthcare systems, highlighting the need to allow scarce healthcare resources to move, including across borders, to where outbreaks emerge and are worse. Digital technologies, data, and cross-border e-health services like telemedicine have become important support mechanisms in the response to the pandemic. Allowing temporary movement of health professionals can also help alleviate capacity constraints on domestic health systems. In the short-term, countries can adopt measures to help alleviate national shortages of medical providers and facilitate the use of telemedicine in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. These include: (i) removing or lowering restrictions on the movement of healthcare professionals across borders, even if temporarily; and (ii) reducing barriers to telemedicine, including allowing the use of insurance in foreign clinics. Medium-term measures should focus on strengthening the global health system and building resilience to future crises. These include: (i) allowing foreign entry of health-related suppliers in order to bring additional resources, new technologies, and new management techniques; (ii) increasing cross-border coordination and collaboration between major research centers for disease prevention and control; and (iii) improving digital connectivity in order to provide better support for healthcare systems.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Note biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020-05-04
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| Subjects: | HEALTH SERVICES TRADE, CORONAVIRUS, COVID-19, PANDEMIC RESPONSE, E-SERVICES, TELEMEDICINE, SERVICE DELIVERY, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, MODE 4 TRADE, GATS, GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/804331588657997511/Health-Services-Trade-and-the-COVID-19-Pandemic https://hdl.handle.net/10986/33716 |
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| Summary: | The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has
overwhelmed the capacity of some domestic healthcare
systems, highlighting the need to allow scarce healthcare
resources to move, including across borders, to where
outbreaks emerge and are worse. Digital technologies, data,
and cross-border e-health services like telemedicine have
become important support mechanisms in the response to the
pandemic. Allowing temporary movement of health
professionals can also help alleviate capacity constraints
on domestic health systems. In the short-term, countries can
adopt measures to help alleviate national shortages of
medical providers and facilitate the use of telemedicine in
response to the COVID 19 pandemic. These include: (i)
removing or lowering restrictions on the movement of
healthcare professionals across borders, even if
temporarily; and (ii) reducing barriers to telemedicine,
including allowing the use of insurance in foreign clinics.
Medium-term measures should focus on strengthening the
global health system and building resilience to future
crises. These include: (i) allowing foreign entry of
health-related suppliers in order to bring additional
resources, new technologies, and new management techniques;
(ii) increasing cross-border coordination and collaboration
between major research centers for disease prevention and
control; and (iii) improving digital connectivity in order
to provide better support for healthcare systems. |
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