Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Caribbean Development Trends

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agribusiness
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Barbados
    • BehaviorChange
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • biodiversity
    • Blockchain
    • Caribbean
    • Caribbean Culture and Media
    • Climate Change
    • Creative Economy
    • Crime Prevention and Citizen Security
    • Data and Knowledge
    • De-risking
    • Dominica
    • Dutch
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Economic Growth
    • Education Policy
    • energy
    • entrepreneurship
    • Environmental and Climate Change
    • Events
    • Extractives
    • Finance
    • Fiscal Rules
    • gender
    • Governance and Regulatory Policy Reforms
    • Grenada
    • Guyana
    • Haiti
    • Health
    • Health Policy
    • Hurricane
    • Hurricane Irma
    • infrastructure
    • Innovation and change
    • Intellectual Property
    • IWD
    • Jamaica
    • JumpCaribbean
    • Labor
    • Labour Markets
    • MOOC
    • Music
    • Natural Disasters
    • Nurturing Institutions
    • OECS
    • Podcast
    • Poverty
    • Private Sector and Entrepreneurship
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • Saint Lucia
    • Saint Vincent and Grenadines
    • skills
    • Sports for Development
    • Suriname
    • Technology
    • The Bahamas
    • The Blue Economy
    • Transportation
    • Tourism
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Uncategorized
    • VAWG
    • Webinar
    • women
    • Women for Change
    • youth
  • Country Offices
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Press Releases
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Authors

One Stop Care Team – No Laughing Matter in Trinidad and Tobago

October 22, 2019 by Ian Ho-A-Shu - Alix Lewis Leave a Comment


We all know someone who has a chronic health condition, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes. They’ve become almost a daily part of Caribbean conversation; something so common that they’re almost expected to be mentioned on greeting. We speak casually about them, and at times, jokingly. And yet at the same time, they’re something we know are both serious and deadly. As much as we know someone who lives with a chronic non-communicable disease (NCD), we know someone who’s died from one too; and often, we’ve lost them much too soon, to something that was either preventable or manageable.

Unfortunately, we also know how complicated the management of an NCD can be. We know how many things there are to keep track of – symptoms, medication, doctor visits. On top of that, our health systems can at times make managing the conditions seem difficult and disjointed. Between scheduling a doctor’s visit or waiting in the emergency room, going elsewhere for routine testing, waiting for results, and then following up with your care physician, the whole process can seem long, drawn-out and exhausting.

However, imagine then, a complete 180° turn on this scenario. Imagine a healthcare system where one team is coordinating your care; a One Stop Care Team, if you will. It could be the clinic you already visit, but one working in coordination with all the services you need to ensure a healthy, happy you. If you’re homebound, it might involve regular home visits from your District Health Visitor or if you visit a specialist or had a hospital stay, your care team would know this and do all the required follow-up. If tests are performed, then testing would be coordinated so that your results would be collected and sent to you via your smartphone, allowing you to have “a digital check-up” with your care team. That way, your care team can work with you and your family members to keep tabs on your care, both inside and outside the clinic walls. Together, you and your care team would also create a healthcare plan, tailored especially to your needs. You will be the focus of your plan and your care team will listen to your needs and preferences, health goals, and provide any updates on the care you receive from your doctors, nurses or other care team members; all done to ensure consistent, coordinated care to manage your chronic long-term conditions.

While this scenario may sound fictional, the idea of a One Stop Care Team is not. It’s an initiative that the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) are hard at work to bring to life in Trinidad and Tobago. With support from the IDB funded Health Services Support Programme (HSSP), the MOH and RHAs are working towards bringing together all the key elements to help chronic care patients manage their individual care plans — health screening, diagnostic testing, counselling and treatment.

The North Central Regional Health Authority “Walk the Talk” Health Screening Programme in action

The timing of this initiative could not be better or more needed; chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) pose a great risk to global health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that they account for over 70% of all deaths. Trinidad and Tobago has one of the highest rates globally, with over 80% of mortality accountable to NCDs. Furthermore, the annual economic burden from diabetes, hypertension, and cancer on Trinidad and Tobago is estimated to be more than USD$1.2 billion or roughly 5% of the country’s GDP. A large portion of this – approximately USD$1 billion – is due to high blood sugar (diabetes) and high blood pressure (hypertension).

Through this initiative, the MOH and the RHAs are confident that in the not too distant future, a patient can visit a primary care health centre anywhere in Trinidad and Tobago and receive timely, holistic, healthcare with key attention paid to building healthy relationships between the patient and his/her personalized care team.


Filed Under: Social Systems

Ian Ho-A-Shu

Ian Ho-a-Shu is a Senior Health Specialist in the Social Protection and Health Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). He is primarily responsible for the implementation-supervision of health projects in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname. Prior to joining the IDB, he was a hospital administrator at a major hospital complex in Trinidad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Law from the University of the West Indies and a Master’s in Business Administration from Andrews University, Michigan, USA.

Alix Lewis

Alix Lewis is an Operations Support Consultant in the Social Protection and Health Division in the Trinidad and Tobago Country Office. Previously, she served as a Brand and Communications Consultant at the IDB Lab in DC. She holds an Master of Law in China Studies from Peking University in Beijing, China, where she focused her research on China-Caribbean relations; and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wellesley College, in Boston, USA. She is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Caribbean Dev Trends

We provide unique and timely insights on the Caribbean and its political, social, and economic development. At the IDB, we strive to improve lives in the Caribbean by creating vibrant and resilient economies where people are safe, productive and happy.

Similar posts

  • A Big Fat Loss for Trinidad and Tobago
  • Hey good-lookin’, whatcha got cookin’?
  • Eat to Live. Not to Die.
  • Lessons from Haiti on Using Sustainable Energy to Increase Access
  • HIV Positives in the Caribbean

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT