See Why Healthcare System of Spain Ranks in Top 10 Worldwide

See Why Healthcare System of Spain Ranks in Top 10 Worldwide

The Spanish healthcare system continues to be world class

A new study from the Healthcare Access and Quality Index (HAQ) shows that Spain is home to the eighth-best healthcare system in theworld. The study was published last week in the British medical journal The Lancet.

The study looked at the healthcare provisions available in 195 countries, measuring several factors related to mortality rates related to issues that shouldn’t be fatal if the patient is provided with proper medical care.

This included analysis of the death rates of 32 recognised illnesses and conditions between 1990 and 2015; along with records of any worldwide improvements.

The good news is that the healthcare systems of practically every country improved over time. There were only a few nations – particularly those where civil war has broken out – that saw a drop in standards.

Spain scored a total of 90 points out of 100, which put it in eighth place globally. Spain was ahead of Italy (89), France (88), Greece (87), Germany (86), the UK (85), and Portugal (85).

The country that took the number one spot was Andorra, which scored a total of 95 points. Iceland came in second with 94 points. Switzerland came in third with 92 points, while Sweden and Norway rounded out the top five countries.

13 of the top 15 countries were from western Europe. The only countries to break this monopoly were Australia in sixth, and Japan, which came in 11^th.

A rather sad statistic is that the average score for all 195 countries was the paltry score of 53.7 points. This number is still an improvement on the 40.7 points seen in 1990, but it is a sign that many countries out there still have an inadequate level of healthcare.

Even though 167 countries out of 195 have improved their healthcare performance, the gap between those that have and haven’t is getting wider. The difference between the top and the bottom country in 1990 was 62 points, while it’s 66 points today.

Spain earned the top score of 100 points for the treatment of diphtheria, tetanus and measles, along with 99 points for maternity and respiration treatment. Spain has plenty of room to improve in treating Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which it scored 64 points for, Leukemia, which it scored 66 points for, and gallbladder disease, which it scored 74 points for.