A healthcare system indicates a country’s economy and the living standards of its people. Its significance manifested in recent times when the pandemic surfaced from nowhere. Also, it is essential to consider the healthcare accessibility of a country when you plan to visit it for work or leisure.
Healthcare involves research, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. Public healthcare is approached differently in countries all around the world. Some depend on third parties, others on government-funded healthcare systems.
What consists of a perfect healthcare system? Which country has the best healthcare system globally? Let’s explore it all and more, one at a time, with a comprehensive list of the best healthcare system in the world. It’s your chance to be in the know of things.
1. France
France provides the best healthcare system in the world through government organizations and their universal coverage. They provide aid to each citizen in case of diseases and accidental mishaps. Statutory health insurance is easily accessible to each citizen.
Even though paying for each consultation and treatment procedure is expected, the government covers most of the treatment and hospital fees. That makes medical care easily accessible to all patients despite their financial status.
Besides, the amount of research done in France helps up the healthcare standards and creates an environment for perfect treatments. This leads to decreased cardiovascular and overall mortality rates.
2. Germany
Given the number of medical research facilities available, Germany is one of the most advanced countries in medicine and healthcare. The country uses statutory contributions, public healthcare facilities, and private systems to provide one of the best healthcare in the world.
Because of the huge number of medical research universities, healthcare facilities, and qualified staff, the healthcare costs and waiting time to access healthcare are pretty low. If you wish to access medical help when visiting Germany, staying in touch with your embassy is the best way.
3. Singapore
Singapore has the best healthcare systems outside of Europe, capable of providing speedy medical healthcare. The Singapore medical care system is financed mainly through government-funded public healthcare systems. It also gets funded through statutory insurance programs.
There is a public health system as well, by the name of MediShield Life. This system was set up to cover huge medical bills, even though many citizens pay the doctor’s fee without outside help. Other funds like MediSave and MediFund are also there to help deprived sections of society to access quality medical help when needed.
4. United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had one of the top European medical care systems since 2017. The infrastructure is sound, with many well-equipped medical care facilities, research centers, and a trained workforce. The country manages the health of its people with the help of a government-run system that covers all the citizens for all diseases and injuries.
However, despite covering healthcare universally, many citizens prefer to have alternative private health insurance options just as an extra safety net. Even though the UK’s medical care system provides healthcare access at cheaper prices, the overall medical accessibility is much lower compared to other European countries.
5. Australia
According to Commonwealth Fund, Australia is the world’s second-best health system. The country offers easy accessibility, efficient and fast financial coverage, and a perfect care procedure for long-term recoveries. Australia is also the topmost country for providing efficient health outcomes.
The country covers the cost of public hospital stays and various other services operating under a universal system, Medicare. However, co-payments are common in the country if treatments happen outside public healthcare systems. Even though the country provides the best access to healthcare, it is still less economically helpful to citizens than countries like Netherlands, UK, and Germany.
6. Switzerland
Switzerland is a healthcare haven, Bagging the top position in the Euro Health Consumer Index in 2018. The country does not provide its citizens with any free public healthcare services, though. Healthcare is made accessible to each citizen through mandatory health insurance. Private corporations manage this with minor government involvement.
Citizens are free to choose their doctors and hospitals because of this facility. Their medical insurance are handled by private corporations. Though healthcare facilities are abundant in Switzerland, medical facilities are the most expensive in Europe. That makes it essential for patients to choose the facility wisely, depending on their requirements and budget.
7. United Arab Emirates
The UAE gained the spotlight due to its precise and efficient vaccine distribution system amid the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2021. The country has hands-down the best health system in the middle east. Most of the medical care facilities are funded by the government. Public healthcare facilities are easily accessible to almost every citizen. At the same time, the private health sector in the country is also advancing at a rapid pace of late.
The UAE has seen a noticeable increase in state-of-art hospitals and clinics providing the latest treatment facilities to cater to the growing medical care requirements. With gradual headways in technological research, it would be no shock if the country creates the best medical care system in the coming years.
8. The Netherlands
The Netherlands was rated as the second-best country in the Euro health consumer index in 2017, which underlines the quality of its health system. Investing in basic health insurance facilities within the country for every adult is mandatory. Employer taxes and payments also fund the country’s healthcare system.
The Netherlands is considered one of the best countries when it comes to taking care of mental health issues. It is common for patients to undergo introductory therapy sessions, even in the case of minor injuries, to cope with the trauma of the injury.
Given the covid-19 situation, the country mandated citizens to undergo such therapies to help cope up with the dread that followed the expansion of the virus. The Netherlands government managed to help a lot of mental health patients because of their awareness regarding the issue. A lot of countries worldwide failed to do so.
9. Japan
Japan is known as a technologically advanced country with a state-of-the-art health system. Japan has one of the world’s highest life expectancies thanks to the system. The country’s statutory health insurance system ensures almost universal coverage for all Japanese citizens. At the same time, a different health insurance system is set up for people who cannot afford the statutory system.
The insurance system covers almost all medical issues, including mental health issues, dental surgeries, hospice services, etc. Most of the hospitals and clinics operating in Japan are specialization-specific. Generic hospitals that provide almost all healthcare facilities are rare to find.
10. Luxembourg
Luxembourg boasts of a vast medical sector that specifically operates in the field of medical technologies and advancements. Most of the population is tech-literate, forcing the government to maintain an e-Health system that helps its citizens through healthcare issues.
Luxembourg finances its healthcare systems by deducting a specific tax from the gross income of its employees, given it is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe. The country bagged 16th in WHO efficiency rankings and 7th on the Euro Health Consumer Index in 2018.
Importance of healthcare during Covid-19
Despite remarkable progress in the health sector during the 20th century, with the global immunization drives and vaccination campaigns, the world was overwhelmed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic affected treatment and diagnosis and derailed the vaccination programs for malaria, HIV, measles, polio, etc. The virus’s global spread also affected the treatment of chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes that needed routine care.
The overall impact of the pandemic made medical care accessibility scarce. It is now essential to tackle vaccination drives and manage the routine care services affected. Countries should focus on creating solid and effective medical healthcare systems that can work commonly even in a crisis.
Conclusion
The healthcare systems are country-specific, varying from country to country. Some create mandatory insurance services for individuals; others provide public healthcare services funded with the help of employer taxes. Some countries utilize both options depending on the income of their citizens and the country’s population.
No matter what way is utilized, after the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare has become scarce in comparison to the medical issues arising globally. As such, there is a constant need to develop sturdy medical healthcare systems that meet future requirements.
People are also reading:
