Rethinking Assumptions About Delivery of Healthcare: Implications for Universal Health Coverage

Key messages •  Availability of health advisers is not the main problem in most countries •  Simply providing access to trained medical staff and facilities does not guarantee universal access to quality care •  A weak link between medical qualifications and medical knowledge implies that providers without any formal medical training can provide higher quality care than fully trained doctors •  In many countries large gaps exist between what doctors know and what they actually do •  New approaches are needed to tackle systems that produce medical professionals who are poorly trained, undermotivated, and underused.