The Spanish National Health Service: chinese porcelain

 

The principles and goals of the Spanish National Health System focus on universality, free access, equity and fairness of financing. The evolution of performance measures over the last decade shows the resilience of the health system to the recent economic crisis. In terms of mortality and self perceived health it does not seem to have affected heavily at least in the sort term, although some structural reforms may be required in the medium and long term, specially to avoid the increasing income inequality, poverty, and risk of social exclusions that worsen the health indicators.

Here we have some ligth about some policy iniciatives and reforms that experts said should be adressed in the Spanish National Health System

• Cuadernos Económicos de ICE  scientific journal edited by the Secretariat of State for Trade (Government of Spain) since 1977. The current issue published in january 2019. Eight articles written by well known researchers from health economics and public health reviewing these hot topics: 

1. The arrival of new technologies with innovative mechanisms and health financing decisions.
2. Areas of public-private collaboration in health systems. focusing on continuing medical education, health research and health care management.
3. The healthcare management, its quality and the consideration of the impact of this quality on health outcomes.
4. The hospital expenditure and hospitalization evolution in the Spanish National Health System (SNS), during the period 2004-2009 and 2010-2015, analyzing their trends and medical practice variability between health areas.
5. Coordination between the health care system and the long-term care system.
6. Public health go beyond the performance of health care services. Health problems are global and require actions at a global level.
7. Good governance is a prerequisite for changing the health policy and the design of the National Health System in the right direction. Good governance in terms of: prioritization, comprehensive health policy, leadership, national health agency, and cultural and intellectual environment.
8. Economic crisis and health: lessons learned and recommendations for the future,

  Acces Full issue (pdf)  CICE Issue (2018)

• The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies released a new health system review (HiT) on Spain.

Acces (pdf) Spain HiT (2018)

photo: "Homeless", 2005. google search words: name of the 25th richest people in the world in 2004 by Forbes (Joan Fontcuberta)  
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