Decentralization of Mental Health Care as One of the Key Pillars of the Republic of Serbia Health Reform: The Importance of the Information Integration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52152/23.1.210-231(2025)Keywords:
mental health care, public health, health reform, decentralization, information systemsAbstract
Healthcare system reforms are ongoing and are considered globally. However, Serbia's social, political, and economic crises have slowed progress, which started in 2002. Decentralization is regarded as critical for improving healthcare services and ensuring financial sustainability. The development of Community Mental Health Centers is considered the cornerstone of the decentralization strategy. A comparative analysis of Big Data on national public health highlights critical issues. According to our findings, it is essential to rethink the models and procedures of a review of the existing healthcare facility network and examine the local population's mental health status and health service usage. One of the appropriate procedures may be the unification and centralization of data collection and storage processes for mental health centers in the national network, both private and public. However, the decentralization processes must be balanced with centralization principles, as they are sensitive to social, historical, political, and economic influences.
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