31.03.2025. (Caucasian Journal) Healthcare, a subject of a pressing public concern, has been underrepresented in the Caucasian Journal. Today, we address this by interviewing Jeffrey LAZARUS, Professor of Global Health at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY SPH), whose career bridges Europe and North America.
As Georgia navigates its European aspirations, we discuss the potential benefits of various healthcare systems and what joining the EU could mean for the health and well-being of the Georgian people.
▶ ქართულად: The Georgian version is here.
Alexander KAFFKA, editor-in-chief of Caucasian Journal: Dear Jeff [if I may], welcome to Caucasian Journal and thank you for your attention to our readers. If you were the main decision-maker responsible for the healthcare sector in an EU candidate country like Georgia, what future strategy would you choose? Would you adopt an existing model from another EU country, combine several models, or create a new one from scratch?
Jeffrey LAZARUS: My main message would be to focus on having a strong primary care system with a gatekeeper system of general practitioners or family doctors and then a strong network of specialists. General practitioners should be in the community, easy to access, and - something the EU is not so good at - there should also be easier telehealth like video access for consultation, so one does not always have to go to an office to see their primary care provider.