Evaluation Team Leader and Universal Health Care/Primary Health Care Specialist- Evaluation of the PCPN Sandbox Implementation

Position: Evaluation Team Leader and Universal Health Care (UHC)/Primary Health Care Specialist

Location:  Philippines                                 

Reports to:  Senior Health M&E Director                              

Period of Performance: July 2024 – October 2024

Background

Panagora Group is a social enterprise dedicated to providing high-quality, high-impact international development, global health, and learning consulting. We are a dynamic, woman- and employee-owned small business partner focused on market-based and integrated local solutions that strengthen country capacity and independence; and on learning, communications, and technology solutions to accelerate and heighten the impact.

Panagora provides technical and advisory services related to monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning to USAID/Philippines. Under the USAID/Philippines, Pacific Islands, and Mongolia Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Activity (PIMMELA), we are supporting the USAID Office of Health (OH) in conducting an evaluation of the Primary Care Provider Network (PCPN) Sandbox implementation.

Within the integrated local health system reform framework of the Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), the PhilHealth is currently implementing a sandbox setting of a network contracting arrangement of primary care providers of its ‘Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama’ or ‘Konsulta’ Package. The ‘Konsulta’ is a primary care benefit package which covers a set of individual-based health services that includes initial and follow-up primary care consultations, health screening and assessment, and access to selected diagnostics services and medicines for various conditions, including communicable and non-communicable diseases and sexual and reproductive health.

PhilHealth considers the primary care provider network (PCPN), a group of Konsulta Package Providers (public, private, or mixed) with established interoperable system for efficient provision of services under Konsulta benefit package, as its first step and the core to the formation of comprehensive health care provider networks (HCPNs), covering all three levels of care.

The PCPN Sandbox is the first small-scale live testing of innovations in a controlled environment under PhilHealth’s supervision of Universal Health Care (UHC) reforms. It has been implemented by the local governments of the City of Baguio and three provinces: Bataan, Quezon, and South Cotabato from July 2023 and will end by June 2024.

The PCPN Sandbox aims to enable PhilHealth to contract pre-identified LGUs and private health care providers to test PCPN innovations and model(s) to promote effective and efficient delivery of Konsulta benefits. It has the following objectives:

(1) Test network contracting models in implementing and improving utilization and delivery of Konsulta services to determine operational and financial sustainability in selected sites

(2) Promote formation of Primary Care Provider Networks, specifically: (a) increase registration of PhilHealth members to Konsulta providers; (b) improve utilization of Konsulta services; and (c) prepare for referral and service delivery arrangements for a more comprehensive set of services within a network setting

(3) Establish standards for contracting of provider networks

(4) Establish and manage a Special Health Fund (SHF) for local government units (LGUs) or pooled fund for private health sectors, as applicable, to sustain and improve health systems operations

(5) Assess the readiness of the LGUs, private health care facilities and PhilHealth in the adoption of network contracting mechanisms

(6) Provide guidance to the Commission on Audit (COA), Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and other concerned agencies on the issuance of respective guidelines on the implementation of health care provider network contracting

This evaluation will assess the contribution of the implementation of the PCPN Konsulta Sandbox as a reform initiative to operationalize local health system integration under the UHC and to enhance delivery of primary health care services in the four (4) sandbox sites.

Position Summary

Panagora Group seeks a short-term technical consultant to serve as Evaluation Team Leader and Universal Health Care (UHC)/Primary Health Care Specialist for the Evaluation of the Primary Care Provider Network (PCPN) Sandbox Implementation. S/he will be the overall lead of the evaluation and provide technical direction to thematic experts and other team members according to the approved Evaluation Statement of Work.  S/he will lead all aspects of the evaluation, including planning, data collection, data analysis and report writing, and provide technical expertise in performance evaluation of the PCPN Sandbox as a UHC reform initiative. The evaluation team lead will be responsible for (1) providing team leadership; (2) managing the team’s activities, (3) ensuring timely delivery, (4) serving as a liaison between the USAID and the evaluation/analytic team and (5) leading briefings and presentations. The evaluation is expected to be carried out between July-October 2024. The position will report to PIMMELA’s Senior Health M&E Director/Health Team Leader and work closely with PIMMELA’s Senior Health M&E Specialist.

• Lead evaluation team planning, consultative, and briefing meetings with USAID OH and PIMMELA.
  
• Carry out a virtual desk review of existing literature on UHC evaluation, primary care service network provision and financing, patient navigation and adherence, PCPN Sandbox documents, and secondary data, and contribute to developing the PowerPoint presentation of initial desk review findings during the design phase debriefing with USAID OH.
  
• Provide technical inputs on UHC and primary health care considerations to the evaluation design and work plan, including the evaluation design matrix, data analysis plan, data collection tools and protocols, and work plan timeline.
  
• Lead the final evaluation design and plan including pre-test report, evaluation design matrix, update performance data analysis plan, updated secondary data analysis plan, final primary data collection tools and protocol and timelines.
  
• Oversee support in integrating USAID feedback to finalize the evaluation design report.
  
• Lead the development and pre-test of evaluation protocols and tools, conduct of orientation/data quality workshop on the evaluation protocols and tools, particularly providing UHC inputs and considerations.
  
• Participate in data collection by conducting key informant interviews and focus group discussions with USAID’s ReachHealth key staff and other donor agencies involved in the PCPN Sandbox implementation, DOH staff, local government unit officers, service delivery points health care workers, community volunteers, and beneficiaries of health services (women, men, young people).
  
• Participate in field visits in selected sites to perform KIIs and/or FGDs, observe the PCPN Sandbox interventions, and conduct client interviews.
  
• Manage the development of the draft evaluation report
  
• Provide UHC and primary health care inputs including analysis and writing of the evaluation draft report.
  
• Manage the team to develop a slide presentation of initial results and lead the team in presenting these in a debriefing session with the OH.
  
• Revise the relevant sections of the draft evaluation report to incorporate comments and suggestions from the preliminary results presentation.
  
• Attend and lead the team presentation in a consultation forum for results validation with key stakeholders and provide UHC inputs to the slide presentation for this forum.
  
• Provide UHC and primary health care specific inputs to complete the final report.
  
• Contribute and manage the team inputs to the dissemination of final results through a slide presentation.
  
• Participate in learning events to discuss results.
  

Requirements

• Master’s or PhD degree in a relevant discipline but with a health focus (e.g., public health, economics, public policy, development studies, social sciences)
  
• At least 8 years’ experience with UHC, primary health care, and USAID health project/ activity implementation and/or evaluation preferred
  
• Should be an experienced evaluator and technical writer, with peer-reviewed and published articles/reports on UHC, primary health care, local health systems, financing and governance preferred
  
• Expertise in UHC and primary health care implementation and/or evaluation at the local and clinical level
  
• Familiarity with USAID project implementation and the Program Cycle, is desirable
  
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including experience successfully interacting with Philippine government officials at local and central levels, donor agencies, civil society partners, private sector, and other stakeholders
  
• Proficient in English
  
• Experience in conducting USAID evaluations of health programs/projects/activities
  
• Experience working in the Philippines
  
• Local consultant, based in the Philippines