The World’s Most Efficient Health Care Systems
Chile, GLOBALHealthPR, Healthcare, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Medicine, Mexico, public health, Rankings, Singapore, Spain
Last August, Bloomberg compiled a list of the most efficient healthcare systems around the world. The ranking took into consideration the healthcare cost per capita, percentage of GDP spent on health care and life expectancy. Researchers looked at data from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Hong Kong’s Department of Health, and gave each country a score out of a 100. Our countdown begins with the top two countries in the Western Hemisphere, followed by the top six overall:
Commentary
Surprisingly it was the Asian nations and not the Europeans who sat atop the list. While there is no common framework, most nations in and out of Asia seem to prefer dual systems of competitive regulated markets and public safety nets. Chile and Mexico led the rankings in the Americas ahead of the U.S. and Canada, despite the financial disparities. Bloomberg’s results debunk several previous assumptions of global healthcare. Despite their good reputations, countries like France or Switzerland lack efficiency; conversely, emerging Asian nations have taken over in terms of efficiency and overall coverage. It will be interesting not only to see how these countries manage their particular systems and tackle the challenges ahead, but also to see if the rest of world stays tuned to their progress.
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