A study in Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing by Costase Ndayishimiye, Marzena Tambor, Katarzyna Dubas-Jakóbczyk, and colleagues explores factors influencing health care provider payment reforms in nine Central and Eastern European countries. Using a four-stage mixed methods approach, the research examines 27 reforms since 2010, focusing on hospitals and primary health care.
The findings highlight 14 major factors shaping provider payment reforms, with a strong emphasis on policy processes such as pilot studies, coordination of implementation, funding availability, and IT systems. Additional influences include the regulatory framework, political support, stakeholder engagement, and the use of clinical guidelines. The study underscores the importance of reform implementation strategies, emphasising that both content and process play a critical role in determining outcomes. Given the shared challenges and facilitators across CEE countries, the authors suggest that cross-country learning could provide valuable insights for future reforms.