The latest Best Countries rankings examined how people around the globe perceive the quality of the healthcare system in their countries of residence. The quality and efficiency of a country’s health care system can have a massive impact on its inhabitants’ quality of life. The health of a nation depends largely on how the system can cater for their people, which is why a good public health care system is so important. Healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illness, injury, disease, and other physical or mental impairments. Healthcare includes dentistry, psychology, nursing, medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and more. Access to healthcare varies across countries, municipalities, and individuals and is primarily influenced by economic and social factors. According to the World Health Organization, a well-functioning healthcare system requires a steady financing mechanism, a properly-trained and adequately-paid workforce, well-maintained facilities, and access to reliable information to base decisions on. Having access to healthcare is seen as a fundamental human right by many people. Lack of quality healthcare can result in a poor quality of life and lower life expectancy than countries with a stable and accessible healthcare system. Countries with efficient and effective health care systems have overall better health outcomes. As a matter of fact, inflation in medicare is higher than inflation in food and other articles. While inflation in food and clothing is in single digits, medicare costs usually escalate in double digits. Denmark to be perceived as having the most well-developed public healthcare system in the world. Top 10 countries based on their quality of healthcare.
1.Denmark
Denmark is in Northern Europe and is part of Scandinavia. The official language is Danish. Denmark has an area of 43,094 km2 and a population of 5.8 million people. The Danish healthcare system is universal and based on the principles of free and equal access to healthcare for all citizens. The state government, regions and municipalities operate the healthcare system and each sector has its own role. The state government creates general healthcare plans and regulations and allocates funding. The healthcare system offers high-quality services, the majority of which are financed by general taxes. Health expenditure is high in Denmark, as the country spends 10.37% of its GDP on healthcare services.
The Danish universal healthcare system, given by the local government of five regions of the country, offers the citizens free medical care. Apart from that, this country issues national health insurance cards to all its permanent residents. So, Most of the citizens take free treatments and health examinations. Denmark also scored 99.28% in nutrition and basic medical care. The high-quality healthcare system increases life expectancy. Life expectancy in Denmark has increased from 77.9 years to 81.3 years. Danish women have a higher life expectancy (82.5 years) than Danish men (78.6 years). Healthcare in Denmark sets a good example for elderly care in other countries.
2.Sweden
Swedish healthcare is largely tax-funded and the overall quality is high. Healthcare system funded by the Government, is universal for all its citizens. Although, it is also has private hospitals, only few exist in the country and they operate under a mandated city council. Healthcare in this country in primarily financed through taxes. Swedish healthcare is decentralised responsibility lies with the regional councils and, in some cases, local councils or municipal governments. Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities and 21 regional councils. This decentralisation is regulated by the Health and Medical Service Act. The role of the central government is to establish principles and guidelines, and to set the political agenda for health and medical care.
Swedish policy states that every regional council must provide residents with good-quality health and medical care, and work to promote good health for the entire population. The Swedish health system performs well in general, life expectancy in the country is high and the general health among the population is good. This is confirmed by reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), among others. The average life span among Swedes is now 84.29 years for women and 80.6 years for men.
3.Canada
The publicly funded health care system provides health services that are mostly free to Canadian citizens and managed and administered on a provincial(13) and territorial level guided under the Canadian Health Act. The government aims to ensure the quality of service through federal standards, with very few exceptions, all citizens qualify for health care services regardless of medical history, income and standard of living. The Canadian Medicare takes into consideration the needs of children, disabled citizens and the elderly. Extraordinary advancements across the healthcare system as providers accelerated their adoption of virtual care.
Approximately 65 to 75 percent of Canadians have some form of supplementary health insurance related to the aforementioned reasons; many receive it through their employers or use secondary social service programs related to extended coverage for families receiving social assistance or vulnerable demographics, such as seniors, minors, and those with disabilities. The primary objective of the Canadian healthcare policy, as set out in the 1984 Canada Health Act (CHA), is to “protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers.” Its Medicare system provides coverage for up to 70% healthcare needs for its citizens. The remaining 30% is through the country’s private sector. Four chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and diabetes account for 65% of deaths in Canada.
4.United Kingdom
In UK, the whole population is covered by the National Health System (NHS), which is financed through general taxation and run by the Department of Health. United Kingdom provides reliable and comfortable healthcare for its citizens and expatriates. All English residents are automatically entitled to free public health care through the National Health Service, including hospital, physician, and mental health care. Each NHS system uses General Practitioners (GPs) to provide primary healthcare and to make referrals to further services as necessary. Hospitals then provide more specialist services, including care for patients with psychiatric illnesses, as well as direct access to emergency departments. Approximately 10.5 percent of the United Kingdom’s population carries voluntary supplemental insurance to gain more rapid access to elective care. Throughout the UK, there is a coexistence of public hospitals, private non-profit hospitals and private for-profit hospitals.
While hospitals are mainly publicly owned and independently operated, they are organized as hospital trusts with three hierarchical levels: community hospitals, district hospitals, and regional or inter-regional hospitals, as well as a number of specialized hospitals offering advanced treatment. Each country including England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland have its own healthcare system and it’s publicly funded by their individual government. Responsibility for the purchasing of health care services across the UK rests at the constituent country level: Primary Care Trusts in England, Health Boards in Scotland, local health groups in Wales and Primary Care Partnerships in Northern Ireland. Despite this coverage, there is an increasing trend towards private care and coverage, with 12% of the population contracting additional private health insurance.
5.Germany
Germany uses universal multi-player healthcare system. That includes both private insurance for people who earn more and statutory health insurance for people who earn below a certain amount of money. The Healthcare system in the country is expensive and also standard. In this country, both Employer and employee pay for most of the healthcare system through premiums. All workers also pay 7.5% of their salaries into the public health insurance pool, which helps country to develop and provide quality treatment. The German public healthcare system is highly decentralized, with 16 municipalities sharing responsibility with the government for hospital planning, building and the upkeep of technical facilities.
In the German system, doctors strictly control access to hospital care and generally work either in hospitals or in private practices. The German health care system is divided into three main areas: outpatient care, inpatient care (the hospital sector), and rehabilitation facilities. The German healthcare system is one of the oldest healthcare systems in the world, dating back to 1880s. The system is organized into two major divisions: Public and Private Health Insurance.
6.Netherlands
Netherlands is one of the countries with best healthcare system in the world, however it’s not cost effective. The Netherlands’ universal social health insurance approach merges public and private insurance. All residents are required to purchase statutory health insurance from private insurers, which are required to accept all applicants. Adults choose a policy on an individual basis, and children under 18 are then automatically covered. Financing is primarily public, through premiums, tax revenues, and government grants. The national government is responsible for setting health care priorities and monitoring access, quality, and costs.
Standard benefits include hospital, physician, home nursing, and mental health care, as well as prescription drugs. Around 63 percent of the population was covered by public health insurance, while the more affluent could opt for private insurance or choose to remain uninsured. It’s Healthcare covers two different forms of insurance, including Zorgverzekeringswet(Zvw) and Algemene Wet Bijzondere Ziektekosten(AWBZ). Zorgverzekeringswet, reffered to as Basic insurance, helps to cover common medical care. On the other hand, AWBZ insurance covers long term nursing and care.
7.Australia
Australia’s health system is one of the best in the world, providing safe and affordable health care for all Australians. It is jointly run by all levels of Australian government – federal, state and territory, and local. Australia has highly developed Healthcare system for both its public and private hospitals. This country utilizes Medicare as its universal health insurance scheme, giving its residents the opportunity to take free treatments in public hospitals. Primary health networks support community health centers, hospitals, GPs, nurses, specialists and other health professionals to help improve patient care.
The Australian, state and territory, and local governments share responsibility for running health system. Private health insurance gives you choice outside the public system. For private health care both in and out of hospital, you contribute towards the cost of your health care. Medicare is available to Australian and New Zealand citizens, permanent residents in Australia, and people from countries with reciprocal agreements. Funding for health and medical research through the Medical Research Future Fund and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
8.France
It’s standard Healthcare system that extends to both its state and private-owned hospitals. The French health care system is generally recognized as offering one of the best services of public health care in the world. It is a system that works, provides universal cover, and is a system that is strongly defended by virtually everyone in France. The health care system in France is made up of a fully-integrated network of public hospitals, private hospitals, doctors and other medical service providers. It is a universal service providing health care for every citizen, irrespective of wealth, age or social status.
The French health care system is funded in part by obligatory health contributions levied on all salaries, and paid by employers, employees and the self employed; in part by central government funding; and in part by users who normally have to pay a small fraction of the cost of most acts of health care that they receive. Primary health care is provided by a network of 23,000 general practitioners. Most GPs are self-employed professionals, and work either on their own, or in group practices. Most general physicians are in private practice but draw their income from the public insurance funds. These funds, unlike their German counterparts, have never gained self-management responsibility. Instead, the government has taken responsibility for the financial and operational management of health insurance. The French government generally refunds patients 70% of most health care costs, and 100% in case of costly or long-term ailments.
9.Austria
Austria is a democratic republic situated in central Europe, which covers a territory about 84,000 square kilometers. Austria has one of the most generous systems of social security and health services for all people within Europe. The principal objective is to make a contribution to the Austrian healthcare system, so that high quality is warranted to all Austrian citizens. Austria has a high standard of compulsory state funded healthcare. It is mandatory for the citizens of Austria and expatriates to pay into the government’s healthcare insurance scheme. The country uses the tax to deliver the best medical care. The costs for healthcare in Austria are rising and cost pressure in the Austrian healthcare system is increasing. The Austrian healthcare system is characterized by a high density of easily accessible healthcare facilities.
Choosing to move to Austria is a very good decision if it’s for having a stable and high-class developed health care system. Austria has an extensive network of healthcare institutions. With excellent public medical services, you will get a decent treatment. Austria has a very comprehensive and well-regarded public healthcare system, called statutory health insurance (SHI). Public healthcare is applicable to all Austrians, EU passport holders, and those from EEA countries, as long as they hold the European Health Insurance Card. Private healthcare is also available in the country. There are three areas of social insurance in Austria: Health, accident and pension. In Austria, there are about 28 social insurance institutions under public law.
10.New Zealand
New Zealand Healthcare system uses a single care approach as it depends solely on the state to deliver quality medical care. It is funded with the help of taxes and provides effective treatment to the citizens at a free or subsidized rate. New Zealand has achieved universal health coverage through a mostly publicly funded, regionally administered delivery system. Services covered include inpatient, outpatient, mental health, and long-term care, as well as prescription drugs. The national government sets an annual budget and benefit package. People in New Zealand enjoy the benefits of a comprehensive and heavily government subsidized health system.
We also have the option of taking medical insurance for private healthcare, although many New Zealanders choose not to. Approximately one-third of the population has private insurance to help pay for non covered services and copayments. If you are not a resident, you can still use our healthcare services but at a cost. New Zealand has one of the highest nurse turnover rates. Among the European colonists, professional medical care was expensive and most people diagnosed themselves or sought alternative treatment.
