29 April, 2014

By VIVA Team

The Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella is a shining example of Spain’s efficient and effective healthcare system

In ranking national healthcare systems worldwide, Bloomberg has placed Spain fifth overall, and top in Europe based on spending efficiency.

Globally, the research by Bloomberg found that Hong Kong boasts the world’s best, most efficient healthcare, scoring 92.6 per cent, way ahead of Singapore in second place (81.9 per cent), Japan in third (74.1 per cent) and Israel in fourth (68.7 per cent)…Spain came in at fifth with a healthcare efficiency spending rate of 68.3 per cent; a score that placed the country ahead of all other European nations. For example, the UK’s much-vaunted NHS system only achieves an efficiency rating of 55.7 per cent – just enough to see the country limp in at 14th place globally.

In more real terms, Spain’s healthcare system nurtures one of the highest average life expectancies in the world at 82.3 years (although the admittedly excellent climate and diet helps) and costs just €2,287 per capita each year, which equates to around 10 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

In rating the various global healthcare systems, Bloomberg utilised data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank. The study focused on countries with a population of five million or more, an average life expectancy higher than 70 years and a GDP of at least $5,000.

Such criteria shortened the list to 48 countries, of which the USA ranked 46th – ahead of only Serbia and Brazil – with a shockingly low efficiency rate of just 30.8 per cent. After Spain came Italy, with an efficiency ranking of 66.1 per cent), Australia (66 per cent), and South Korea.

For Spain, the results are a justification of the pride the country takes in looking after its citizens. Beating out France – a nation often praised for its thorough and efficient healthcare system – must have been a bitter pill for Spain’s Gallic neighbours to swallow…