The Czech Republic has a universal health care system, based on a compulsory insurance model, with fee-for-service care funded by mandatory employment-related insurance plans since 1992. [1] According to the 2018 Euro Health Consumer Index, a comparison of healthcare in Europe, the Czech healthcare is ranked 14th, just behind Portugal and two positions ahead of the United Kingdom. [2]
In the 1989–1992 period, the healthcare faced substantial problems after the transition from Communist monopoly market to competitive market. From the past top-down centralized government system, the newly elected administrators enacted reforms designed to expand patient choice. From 1990 to 1998, deaths under one year of age shrank from 10.8 to 5.2 per thousand. Statistically, the Czech Republic is one of the healthiest of the central and eastern European countries, though some data points lag behind other Western European nations. The Republic has been a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 1995. [1]
In late 2000, professors of medicine Jan Holčík and Ilona Koupilová wrote for The International Journal of Integrated Care,
There is currently considerable interest in looking to Western Europe for inspiration and a certain degree of willingness to implement, what is usually described as, the European model of health care. The context of the situation in the Czech Republic, traditions with respect to social organisation and attitudes to health and health issues, and also the economic situation of the country, will all play an important role and pose many specific issues when trying to implement new concepts such as a family doctor. It remains to be seen how far these new concepts are effective and viable in the context of the Czech Republic. [1]
The Czech healthcare system has a great degree of decentralization and market forces used in it compared to other European systems.
In terms of administration, the healthcare system is based on a compulsory insurance model, with fee-for-service care funded by mandatory employment-related insurance plans since 1992. [1] User fees have subsequently been reduced by more recent governments. [3]
The service is moving towards a mandatory electronic prescribing system. [4]
The Pharmaceuticals Act, as amended, provides that the State Institute for Drug Control collects and analyses data about pharmaceuticals present in the country and to ensure distribution of medicinal products "within two business days of receipt of an order". It appears that some parts of the Act are unenforceable in practice. [5]
Health care reform is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to:
A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.
Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, and other health professions all constitute health care. The term includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, and public health.
The healthcare industry is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care. It encompasses the creation and commercialization of products and services conducive to the preservation and restoration of well-being. The contemporary healthcare sector comprises three fundamental facets, namely services, products, and finance. It can be further subdivided into numerous sectors and categories and relies on interdisciplinary teams of highly skilled professionals and paraprofessionals to address the healthcare requirements of both individuals and communities.
Universal health care is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized around providing either all residents or only those who cannot afford on their own, with either health services or the means to acquire them, with the end goal of improving health outcomes.
Health care in Ireland is delivered through public and private healthcare. The public health care system is governed by the Health Act 2004, which established a new body to be responsible for providing health and personal social services to everyone living in Ireland – the Health Service Executive. The new national health service came into being officially on 1 January 2005; however the new structures are currently in the process of being established as the reform programme continues. In addition to the public-sector, there is also a large private healthcare market.
Switzerland has universal health care, regulated by the Swiss Federal Law on Health Insurance. There are no free state-provided health services, but private health insurance is compulsory for all persons residing in Switzerland.
Healthcare in the Netherlands is differentiated along three dimensions (1) level (2) physical versus mental and (3) short term versus long term care.
The French health care system is one of universal health care largely financed by government national health insurance. In its 2000 assessment of world health care systems, the World Health Organization found that France provided the "best overall health care" in the world. In 2017, France spent 11.3% of GDP on health care, or US$5,370 per capita, a figure higher than the average spent by rich countries, though similar to Germany (10.6%) and Canada (10%), but much less than in the US. Approximately 77% of health expenditures are covered by government-funded agencies.
Health care in Cyprus accounted for 7% of its GDP in 2014. Between 2010 and 2014, health care spending increased from $1,705 per capita to $2,062 per capita. Cyprus has a multi-payer health care system that consists of a public and private sector. The public sector is funded by payroll, earnings taxes, and employer contributions. The public sector healthcare provides social insurance for the employed, self-employed, and for several types of civil servant.
Healthcare in Slovenia is organised primarily through the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia. In 2015, healthcare expenditures accounted for 8.10% of GDP. The Slovenian healthcare system was ranked 15th in the Euro Health Consumer Index 2015. The country ranked second in the 2012 Euro Hepatitis Index.
The nation of Austria has a two-tier health care system in which virtually all individuals receive publicly funded care, but they also have the option to purchase supplementary private health insurance. Care involving private insurance plans can include more flexible visiting hours and private rooms and doctors. Some individuals choose to completely pay for their care privately.
Healthcare in Greece consists of a universal health care system provided through national health insurance, and private health care. According to the 2011 budget, the Greek healthcare system was allocated 6.1 billion euro, or 2.8% of GDP. In a 2000 report by the World Health Organization, the Greek healthcare system was ranked 14th worldwide in the overall assessment, above other countries such as Germany (25) and the United Kingdom (18), while ranking 11th at level of service.
Examples of health care systems of the world, sorted by continent, are as follows.
A new measure of expected human capital calculated for 195 countries from 1990 to 2016 and defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status was published by The Lancet in September 2018. Latvia had the twenty-first highest level of expected human capital with 23 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years.
As of 2019 Lithuanian life expectancy at birth was 76.0 and the infant mortality rate was 2.99 per 1,000 births. This is below the EU and OECD average.
Government-guaranteed health care for all citizens of a country, often called universal health care, is a broad concept that has been implemented in several ways. The common denominator for all such programs is some form of government action aimed at broadly extending access to health care and setting minimum standards. Most implement universal health care through legislation, regulation, and taxation. Legislation and regulation direct what care must be provided, to whom, and on what basis.
Healthcare in Slovakia has features of the Bismarck, the Beveridge and the National health insurance systems. It has public health system paid largely from taxation. The cost of national health insurance is shared between the employees and the employers. The part of these taxes are paid by the employees as a deduction from theirs wages and the remaining part of these taxes is paid as compulsory contribution by employers. Sole traders pay the full amount of these taxes.
The State Institute for Drug Control is a Czech government agency responsible for regulation of the safe production of pharmaceuticals in the country, clinical evaluation of medicines and for monitoring the advertising and marketing of both medicines and medical devices. Its powers stem from the Act on Public Health Insurance.
The Bismarck model is a health care system in which people pay a fee to a fund that in turn pays health care activities, that can be provided by State-owned institutions, other Government body-owned institutions, or a private institution. The first Bismarck model was instituted by Otto von Bismarck in 1883 and focused its effort in providing cures to the workers and their family. Since the establishment of the first Beveridge model in 1948, where the focus was into providing healthcare as a human right to everyone with funding through taxation, nearly every Bismarck system became universal and the State started providing insurance or contributions to those unable to pay.
