SARS-COV-2 INFLUENCES IN HOSPITAL FUNDING

Abstract

The challenges to which all health systems in the world are subjected put pressure on the government to find solutions, mainly for their financing, but also the possibility of ensuring the highest possible level of quality of the medical services provided to the population. During the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic, very often, health systems have been outdated and unable to provide medical services at the expected level, including in countries considered to offer medical services at the highest level. Spending on supporting health systems during the pandemic has been substantial, with each state applying different strategies to support the health system, especially hospital units. In Romania, half of the budget allocated to health is spent by hospitals, and during the pandemic they have benefited from a series of facilities in order to support their activity and ensure the medical services offered to patients. Among the extremely important measures taken in Romania, during the pandemic, there is the financing of hospitals at the level contracted with the health insurance houses, given the limitation of patients' access to the medical services offered in hospitals. This paper is based on qualitative and quantitative research of the indicators in six hospital units in the west of the country, which analyzes the level of funding and the rate of bed use before the pandemic and the challenges after it. The conclusions of the study show that the rate of use of beds in analyzed hospitals is decreasing, especially influenced by the pandemic period, which leads, in addition to the increasing costs necessary for operation, to additional pressures in providing the necessary funds to provide medical services to patients.

Keywords

• the impact of the pandemic on hospitals
• hospital funding
• bed use rate