Spain enjoys a universal health care system for all citizens and, under certain conditions, also non-citizens. The system is essentially free except for small, often symbolic co-payments in some products and services.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, total health spending accounted for 9.4% of GDP in Spain in 2011, slightly above the OECD average of 9.3%. The Spanish health care system is considered one of the best in the world, in 7th position in the ranking calculated by the World Health Organization. Spain is the 1st country in the world in organ transplants. The public sector is the main source of health funding. In Spain, 73% of health spending was funded by public sources in 2011, very close to the average of 72% in OECD countries. Since 2010, real term spending on healthcare has declined in Spain.
Video Health care in Spain
Hospitals
In an emergency, people can go straight to a hospital A&E. For any other type of hospital treatment a referral from a doctor is required. There are public and private hospitals, with the former providing free treatment. As some hospitals offer both private and state healthcare services, the presentation of a social security card, an EHIC, or proof of private insurance is advisable. As hospital doctors do not issue prescriptions, after discharge, patients take the hospital medical report to a pharmacy for prescriptions to be filled.
In Spain patients have the right to read their own patient records, but there is evidence that this is not well publicised.
Maps Health care in Spain
Decentralisation
In Spain, provision of health care services is decentralised, and thus the responsibility of several autonomous communities. As of 2001, decentralisation was in effect in: Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Catalunya, Valencia, Navarra, Galicia, and Pais Vasco. In 1998, an analysis of the effects of greater autonomy on legislative performance and policy outcomes for health care observed a positive effect on the former, but no effect on the latter. The analysis noted that a possible explanation for this disconnect was that autonomous communities had only experienced greater autonomy in the area of health care for a short time, and positive effects on policy outcomes could take longer to manifest. In 2009, an analysis of data collected by the Spanish National Health Survey in 2001 showed that autonomous communities with decentralised health services tended to have better equity performance. In 2014, an analysis of data collected by the Spanish Centre of Sociological Research between 1996 and 2009 found that for twenty variables of public satisfaction with health care services, decentralisation not only had no effect on 2 measures of primary or specialised care and 1 of hospital care, but actually performed worse on 3 measures of primary or specialised care and 1 measure of hospital care. No statistically significant trend was observed for twelve of the twenty measures of satisfaction. The authors of the analysis stressed that the data was limited due to the subjective nature of patient reports, and the possible inability of some to properly evaluate performance of health care services.
International comparisons
In a sample of 13 developed countries Spain was second in its population weighted usage of medication in 14 classes in both 2009 and 2013. The drugs studied were selected on the basis that, in the previous 10 years the conditions treated had: a high incidence, prevalence and/or mortality; caused significant long-term morbidity; incurred high levels of expenditure or had significant developments in prevention or treatment. The study noted considerable difficulties in cross border comparison of medication use. Ceuta had the highest proportion of practising doctors per head of any region in Europe - 871 per 100,000 in 2015.
The Euro health consumer index rated Spain 19th of 35 European countries in 2015, remarking that there was somewhat of an over-reliance on seeking private care.
See also
- Spanish National Health System
References
External links
- Healthcare system in Spain
- Medical Terminology & Major Hospital List in Spain
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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