Healthcare systems differ all over the world, with some providing high-quality services for free, and others causing people to quickly rack up thousands in medical bills. So, does paying for healthcare mean that you are guaranteed a better service, or are free healthcare systems just as reliable?
To delve into how simple differences in the way that healthcare systems are implemented around the world can have huge impacts on the quality of results and level of care, Radar Healthcare have carried out research to create their brand new Healthcare Mappedreport.
The study has ranked UK as the country with the sixth highest number of hospitals, with a total of 1,978 hospitals across the four nations.
Japan has been named as the country with the highest volume of hospitals, with a total of 8,300 hospitals across the country. In second place in the US with 6,146 hospitals across the country.
Top 20 countries ranked on the number of hospitals
- Japan
- US
- South Korea
- Germany
- France
- UK
- Australia
- Poland
- Italy
- Spain
- Canada
- Netherlands
- Switzerland
- Greece
- Austria
- Finland
- Portugal
- Belgium
- New Zealand
- Lithuania
Chloe Weatherhead, Head of Customer Experience at Radar Healthcare says: ‘Overall, there are numerous factors that have an impact on the efficiency of healthcare systems across the globe, such as financial and humanitarian crises, high population density, low salaries, and so on.’
‘The huge steps that have been made, with regards to healthcare-related technology innovation within the last few years alone, are already having a hugely positive impact on quality and safety, and improving outcomes and overall experiences for all kinds of patients.’
‘Learning and taking inspiration from impressive international healthcare systems, such as those found in Japan, could certainly be a wise move for those wary of embracing ever-evolving technological advancements. Ultimately, the best way to tackle the ongoing challenges healthcare systems around the globe continue to face is to drive improvements by learning from one another.’
‘When it comes to the UK in particular, it’s reasonable to note that it could be beneficial to focus on upgrading to more advanced technological processes, that help to create a culture of learning by empowering healthcare staff with information to support quicker decision making and more open methods of communication.’
‘It’s also worth noting how access to national health-related data can have a hugely significant learning impact. For example, the new LFPSE (Learn from patient safety events) service – which is currently in the final stages of development – will act to give healthcare workers a more holistic and wider view of national data, to see what’s working well and what’s not up and down the UK.’
