Tuesday, 10 January 2017

669. Portuguese health service drops to 20th place in international ranking

Inequality in access to health services, delays in surgeries, difficulty in getting treatment abroad, high numbers of cesareans, difficulty accessing family doctors and oral health care outside the National Health Service are some of the areas that are contribute to a more negative evaluation of the Portuguese health system. According to the international ranking made by the Swedish organization Health Consumer Powerhouse, Portugal appears in the 2015 edition in the 20th place of the European Medical Assistance Index, when in 2014 it was in 13th place.
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As for Portugal, the country appears in red on topics such as direct access to consultations with medical specialists, waiting times for non-urgent surgeries, Staphylococcus aureus infections resistant to the main antibiotics, dialysis out of hospital, access Dental physicians and the consumption of alcohol. In yellow, issues such as the publication of data on the quality of services provided, access to innovative drugs, consultations with the family doctor on the day, waiting time for oncological treatments or some complementary diagnostic tests. The cases of depression, years of life lost and cancer survival are also cause for concern. On the contrary, the country achieves green results in subjects such as electronic prescription, access to a health line 24 hours a day (Health Line 24, 808 24 24 24), reduction of deaths from stroke and stroke, cataract surgery, Kidney transplants and vaccination.
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On the other hand, the Health Consumer Powerhouse highlights that the best results are found in countries with health systems based on social insurance - Portugal has a public service financed essentially by taxes.
Romana Borja-Santos
  

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