Healthcare Service and Healthcare

¶ … Health System in the Czech Republic

WHO rankings of the Czech Republic in major health indices, i.e. life expectancy and infant mortality

According to statistical reports, life expectancy in the Czech Republic in 2012 was at 78.2 years. The OECD average is 80.2. The highest life expectancy was reported to be among the Japanese. Life expectancy in Japan was 83.2; which was the highest reported among the OECD nations. Iceland and Switzerland came in second and third respectively. The obesity rates among OECD countries including the Czech Republic have been reported to be on the increase; more so in the last decade. In particular, the rate has risen from 14% in 2000 to 21% in 2010. Although these figures remain significantly lower that the occurrence in the USA (which stood at 35.3% in 2012, the ever increasing incidence of obesity cases is an early warning of the occurrence of health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. This is also a sure sign of higher health costs at all levels in the coming days. The infant mortality rate in the Czech Republic in 2015, stood at 2-25/1000 children. The maternal mortality stood at 5 for every 100, 000 live births. Some reports have pointed to crude death rates of up to 10.3/1000 (Knoema, 2016).

The Weaknesses and strengths of the healthcare system in the Czech Republic compared to the situation in other countries

Pros

Czech citizens are free to choose their own medical practitioner. Indeed, all are required to have one. They are also allowed to consult with a specialist practitioner without a referral if the healthcare service is rendered in their backyard. The government makes sure that health care service is of high quality in all regions. Indeed, the law requires that every member of society receives similar quality health care. All Czech Republic Health care providers must provide the same level of healthcare for every citizen; a marked difference from our experience in the U.S. where we have several options to insurance in matters healthcare. Although exceptions exist; as expected, generally, everyone is covered by healthcare. Indeed, this aspect of the Czech system is what has been recently passed as a desired reform in the healthcare provision spheres in the U.S. Private insurance enables any Czech citizen to seek healthcare service from any facility they choose. 90% of the population is registered with a primary health care physician (Lipari, 2012).

Czech doctors are lucky because they are not under pressure to compete for service delivery. The medical results determine how money is awarded. The Czech authorities bring to life the wide expectation that the mission of nurses and doctors is firstly to make sick people recover from their ailments and not to get rich quick. The scientific developments in the western world were widely embraced in the Czech Republic in 1989. Healthcare delivery in CR was privatized by the elected leaders. There was a shakeout that followed; predictably. Insurance providers that did not fit the bill automatically failed. The surviving companies were strengthened by competition. The number of health insurers in the Czech Republic shrank from over 40 to just 8.

From 2005, CR pursued a new line of reforms and modernization seeking to tighten control on the price of drugs and increasing the number of doctors. The Czechs boast of the highest ratio of physicians to citizens. There are 3-5 doctors to 1000 people. In the USA, the ration is a paltry once doctor per thousand people nursing numbers in CR are even better in relation to the population.

Cons

The good tidings for the Czech people notwithstanding, a number of Czech medics have threatened to emigrate to other European countries because some of those countries are said to pay four times as much as what is paid in Czech Republic. A lot of young graduates who cleverly learnt a second language and organic chemistry venture for training in other countries. Czech Republic remains a major consumer of tobacco. It has lagged behind in the awareness campaigns that have taken root in other countries over the past decade. The rate of adult smokers has only marginally reduced from 23% in 1999 to 22.9% in 2012. Indeed, the smoking rate among adults in the Czech Republic is way above the OECD average of 20.7%. Some Nordic countries including Norway, Sweden and Iceland plus the USA and Australia are examples of nations that have achieved a lot in reducing tobacco consumption among their population. The adult smoking rates in these countries stand at less than 16%. Consumption of alcohol in the CR is also higher. Indeed, it is ranked 4th among the 34 OECD nations. Alcohol consumption stood at 11.6 liters per person in 2012. The OECD average stands at 9.0 Liters.

How popular is the healthcare system among citizens of the Czech Republic?