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July
18, 2002 (Lexington, Ky.) -- University
of Kentucky health care professionals did their part
to improve the health of Romanians this past month.
For two
weeks, Romanian health care professionals visited
the Kentucky School of Public Health faculty and staff
of the UK Distance Learning Technology Center as part
of an ongoing, cooperative project between UK and
Romania's Department of Public Health and Management
of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest
and the Institute of Health Services Management. The
goal of the program is to educate Romanians about
their new health care system.
"Romania
has undergone reform strategies and changed from a
budgeted health care system to a system based on a
Diagnostic Related Groupings (DRGs) method of payment,"
said Tom Samuel, associate professor in the Division
of Health Services Management in the UK College of
Health Sciences and the Kentucky School of Public
Health.
Once a
country under communist rule, Romania now faces the
difficult task of implementing new health care systems
and educating the public about health care options.
UK faculty members are helping the country achieve
its goal through two separate public health education
projects.
UK faculty
members are working with Romanian health professionals
to educate health care administrators in Romania to
successfully manage their organization, given the
changes in health care resource allocation. UK also
is involved in a collaborative communication campaign
in Romania, using print, television, and radio news
media to explain how to access health care information.
"We
are continuing to learn how to better explain to consumers
about reform in order to have better health care,"
said Adriana Galan, information technology specialist
for the Department of Public Health and Management.
"Our Kentucky partners have experience in health
education and we can take advantage of their expertise
in the field."
The use
of new computer software and the Internet are especially
important in the implementation of this program.
"Health
professionals can contact local health authorities
and access the Internet for health care education
using distance education methodologies," Galan
said.
Aside from
bolstering the health care system in Romania, project
leaders are finding several other advantages to implementing
these types of programs.
"Romania
will soon join NATO and has applied for membership
in the European Union. This program is important because
the United States wants to help Romania achieve membership,"
Samuel said.
The training
program will also be used for modeling, training and
education of health professionals in other countries.
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