UK lags behind in healthcare outcomes index
pharmafile | November 26, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Japan, NHS, UK, WHO, economist, health outcomes
Whilst healthcare outcomes in the UK arguably remain among the best in the world according to recent findings by The Economist, the country spends more than others to reach them.
Pointing to wastage or misdirected spending within the NHS, the report by the newspaper’s Intelligence Unit’s Health Outcomes and Spending Index found that the UK lags behind other European countries including France, Germany and Switzerland.
Using figures by the World Health Organisation which weighs population health in 166 countries against how much they spend on health per head, the results showed that health spending correlates with population outcomes, but expenditure increases as outcomes improve.
“Cost-cutting measures and reforms have tried to address some of these problems, but the task of maintaining standards will only get more difficult and expensive as the UK population ages,” says Ana Nicholls, the report’s author.
Life expectancy at aged 60, for example, is around two years lower than in Japan but making up that gap will be extremely challenging. “It is important not to view healthcare spending as a cost, but as an investment,” adds Ms Nicholls, “and the emphasis should be on getting good value from that investment.”
The UK took home 23rd place in The Economist’s guide, in front of Belgium, Portugal and Greece – but well behind Spain, Italy and Sweden.
While on the other hand Japan, a country with a population aging quicker than any other nation, came out on top in the health outcomes index.
One in four Japanese is over 65, and according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the proportion of senior citizens in Japan will grow to 40% of the total population by 2060.
In the guide the East Asian nation scored well not just on life expectancy but also on the overall healthiness of its population. Outcomes are also affected by diet, lifestyles, genetics, climate and wealth levels.
Unsurprisingly the US emerges from the analysis as a poor-value healthcare system. Despite spending the most per head of the 166 countries included, the US ranks behind countries such as Lebanon and Costa Rica.
Overall, the report found that Asia, Europe and North America ranked the best in the index with many African nations and a number of poorer Asian countries deemed the worst for healthcare outcomes.
Tom Robinson
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