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Health system

A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.

There is a wide variety of health systems around the world, with as many histories and organizational structures as there are nations. Implicitly, nations must design and develop health systems in accordance with their needs and resources, although common elements in virtually all health systems are primary healthcare and public health measures.[1]


In certain nations, the orchestration of health system planning is decentralized, with various stakeholders in the market assuming responsibilities. In contrast, in other regions, a collaborative endeavor exists among governmental entities, labor unions, philanthropic organizations, religious institutions, or other organized bodies, aimed at the meticulous provision of healthcare services tailored to the specific needs of their respective populations. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the process of healthcare planning is frequently characterized as an evolutionary progression rather than a revolutionary transformation.[2][3]


As with other social institutional structures, health systems are likely to reflect the history, culture and economics of the states in which they evolve. These peculiarities bedevil and complicate international comparisons and preclude any universal standard of performance.

Goals[edit]

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system, healthcare systems' goals are good health for the citizens, responsiveness to the expectations of the population, and fair means of funding operations. Progress towards them depends on how systems carry out four vital functions: provision of health care services, resource generation, financing, and stewardship.[4] Other dimensions for the evaluation of health systems include quality, efficiency, acceptability, and equity.[2] They have also been described in the United States as "the five C's": Cost, Coverage, Consistency, Complexity, and Chronic Illness.[5] Also, continuity of health care is a major goal.[6]

Health systems should not be expressed in terms of their components only, but also of their interrelationships;

Health systems should include not only the institutional or supply side of the health system but also the population;

Health systems must be seen in terms of their goals, which include not only health improvement, but also , responsiveness to legitimate expectations, respect of dignity, and fair financing, among others;

equity

Health systems must also be defined in terms of their functions, including the direct provision of services, whether they are medical or services, but also "other enabling functions, such as stewardship, financing, and resource generation, including what is probably the most complex of all challenges, the health workforce."[7]

public health

By individual practitioners.

Central negotiations (as in Japan, Germany, Canada and in France) or hybrid model (such as in Australia, France's sector 2, and New Zealand) where GPs can charge extra fees on top of standardized patient reimbursement rates.

"Government/compulsory": Government spending and compulsory health insurance.

"Voluntary": Voluntary health insurance and private funds such as households' out-of-pocket payments, NGOs and private corporations.

They are represented by columns starting at zero. They are not stacked. The 2 are combined to get the total.

At the source you can run your cursor over the columns to get the year and the total for that country.

[19]

Click the table tab at the source to get 3 lists (one after another) of amounts by country: "Total", "Government/compulsory", and "Voluntary".

[19]

Expand the OECD charts below to see the breakdown:

World Health Organization: Health Systems

research and other resources on health systems in developing countries

HRC/Eldis Health Systems Resource Guide

a list of latest publications by OECD

OECD: Health policies