Addressing Bureaucratic Burdens on the Portuguese National Health Service: A Simplification Experience Aiming for Value-Based Healthcare

Background/Objectives: The Portuguese NHS has embarked on an administrative restructuring aimed at enabling healthcare professionals, particularly family doctors, to focus on direct patient care and improve overall healthcare outcomes. This article details these measures, their initial benefits for patients and professionals, and explores future strategies to further integrate levels of care and leverage technology to enhance efficiency, patient-centeredness, and ultimately, population health. Methods: Each measure was evaluated to estimate its potential impact on the four pillars of the value-based healthcare (VBHC) framework. Results: We found that most measures aimed at reducing bureaucracy had an estimated impact on more than two of the four pillars. Conclusions: Thus, we conclude that the reduction in bureaucracy will tend to address several of the pillars of the VBHC framework and should be considered as a steppingstone in the process of increasing VBHC.