Nordic Countries Outperform US in Quality and Accessibility of Health Services - Essay Sample

Introduction

A robust health care system is indispensable in any country as it determines the overall quality of life of populations and their contribution to national-building. Many consider the health care system in the United States as one of the most responsive in providing services to its citizens. However, many Nordic countries far outperform America regarding the quality and accessibility of health services for their citizens. Denmark is an example of the countries in this region that have proved that provision for quality healthcare to all citizens is feasible. The reason for the choice of Demark as a country of comparison is that the Danish health care system has been repeatedly ranked among the best in the world due to its organization and funding, which make almost every citizen access quality care at a significantly low cost. Denmark is a developed country, and a comparison of its healthcare system with that of the United States will offer insightful lessons on what stakeholders in the American system will learn to offer care to the people better. The paper will compare the two health care systems by highlighting the similar aspects of the systems as well as explore areas of disparity.

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Differences

The Danish government owns the healthcare system, and duties are divided amongst the different levels of the government; the national government (federal), the regional units (regional), and the municipalities (local government). The state governs the healthcare system through the ministry of health. The ministry of health has health agencies that it uses in executing its duties. The ministry is responsible for issuing health legislation to pharmacies and professionals, issuing national guidelines to be used in the health sector, protecting patient's rights, conducting health-related audits, and monitoring of professionals in the health care sector. The five regional governments are tasked with the governing of primary and secondary health care services, and also regulating pharmacies. In the Danish government, patients are given an option to seek a diagnosis in the private sector if such is not provided in the public hospitals in 30 days. The cost incurred in diagnosis gets reimbursed through the regional government. In the municipalities, the local government is in charge of community- based care, which includes home nursing, health promotion, and disease prevention (Schmidt et al., 2019). Schmidt et., al. (2019) further documents that it is also the responsibility of the local government to give welfare allowances for the less privileged in the community.

In the United States, the health care system is highly privatized. Private non-profit-making individuals highly dominate the sector, then the government, and lastly, private profit-making individuals follow in that order. The federal government is significantly involved in health matters except for policy guidelines. At the State level, their commitment to health matters varies from being stringiest to having no plans. On the local level, the government gives primary health care to its residents. For the physicians, most of them work in the private sector, and some start solo clinics (www.aicgs.org, 2012). Overall, the federal government issues policy guidelines, which enable states to design their programs depending on the unique needs of their respective populations.

In the Danish government, healthcare gets finances through federal and local taxation at 84%. The government also offers subsidies to the regional government based on hospital activity. The number of patients, the treatment, and demographics determine the amount of hospital-based subsidy that specifies the funds' allocation. Disease prevention and promotion of healthy lifestyle help in saving money meant for treatment (Mainz et al.,2015). All residents are also able to access free healthcare in all public hospitals, including getting referrals.

Since the United States healthcare system privatized, this also means that their health care gets its finances through individuals, government, and organizations. Most of the American residents have insurances provided through private means and the government. 58% of insurances are individuals who have acquired them through their employers. The other 16% is from the government insurance policies like Medicare, Medicaid, and protection for the veterans and the military. The federal government gives Medicare to individuals who are above 65 years of age who are identified by the federal government. Medicaid is an insurance program from both the federal and state governments. It is financed by money from the federal and state taxes. It is distributed by the federal government to the vulnerable through the state by following guidelines issued by the federal government. State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a health insurance program issued to children and their families who are needy but do not qualify to be under the Medicaid program. SCHIP is an extension of Medicaid. The other 16% are uninsured individuals and who do not fall in the above category and are not able to process their insurances. Another way that the healthcare system in the United States gets financed is through government funding the public hospitals directly (www. Aicgs.org, 2012).

The Danish government has created a comprehensive national register that identifies each patient with a unique 10-digit identifier. Every time a patient visits a hospital, their information gets stored in the database (Mainz et., al, 2015). In the database, the information of the particular patient can be retrieved and used for research and other key healthful decisions. It also contributes to the safe handling of patients and their data. The Danish government, through the local government, engages more in disease preventive measures and also participates in primary healthcare for its residents. The structure implies that healthcare delivery is more focused on prevention at the community level as opposed to the disease model.

The United States spends the highest amount of money on their healthcare than any country. However, this money has not resulted in quality healthcare. It can be attributed to the lack of a digitalized register of patients to keep track of their health history and use the same information for research to help in the improvement of quality healthcare. Another barrier to quality healthcare is the lack of a universal healthcare system where people get treatment indiscriminately. Furthermore, there is racism in the health sector where the minorities are not treated equally as white Americans as far as quality healthcare is concerned. The quality of the environment where a minority of citizens live contributes to the achievement of quality healthcare. Such compounding cases have become one of the weak points in the success of quality healthcare. The shortage of health professionals has a direct impact on the quality of healthcare amongst individuals from the minority (Schneider & Squires, 2017). is because a patient does not get the full attention required of them when there are fewer professionals who attend to time. The few available are not able to give quality time to the patients.

Similarities

The federal government funds Danish healthcare down to the local government. The healthcare system in Denmark is universal healthcare, which treats 99% of its residents. The funding is from taxes collected from the local, regional, and federal governments. The funds are used for the running of the hospitals, paying hospital professionals, cater for medicine in the in-patient department. Likewise, in the United States government, they offer funding to the healthcare system by funding insurance policies and local hospitals. They offer Medicare, Medicaid, and Military insurance to support their citizens who are vulnerable, needy, and the military. They also negotiate with the hospitals, both public and private, on taking in patients funded under these policies. The U.S. healthcare system can learn from the Danish healthcare system. Having a good health system from the federal government to the local government is what is vital in having a successful healthcare system that is funded entirely by the government.

In both the Danish government and the United States government, it is the government that comes up with policies and guidelines on how the healthcare system of their respective countries should run. In the Dutch government, the plans are from the Ministry of Health in the federal government; then, these policies get passed down to the state and local government. These policies include service delivery, financing, and general healthcare guidelines. On the other hand, the United States government gives policies on the government level. The federal government offers guidance on the issuance of Medicare, Medicaid, and Military insurance. All this enables service delivery to trickle down to the local citizens. Although the United States has policies that are crucial in the healthcare sector, these policies are not as effective as those in the Dutch government and which has proved to be most effective.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the healthcare system in Denmark is universal health coverage, in which all their residents can access the hospitals. The Danish government also has a healthcare system where they store the information for all the patients in the hospitals, and each patient has a unique 10-digit number, which stores the patient's information. The federal, regional, and local governments are involved in the healthcare system. In the United States, the healthcare system is highly privatized. Employees and individuals work out a plan on their insurances. The government, through policies like Medicare and Medicaid, also supports the aged and vulnerable in society. Though all these have into place, a number of their citizens remain uninsured. It is, therefore, essential to note that for a successful healthcare system, the Danish system is superior has it has offered health services to all its residents.

References

American Institute for Contemporary German Studies. (2012, March 8). Structure of the U.S. health care system. AICGS. https://www.aicgs.org/2012/03/structure-of-the-u-s-health-care-system/

Mainz, J., Kristensen, S., & Bartels, P. (2015). Quality improvement and accountability in the Danish health care system. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 27(6), 523-527. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzv080

Schmidt, M., Schmidt, S. A., Adelborg, K., Sundboll, J., Laugesen, K., Ehrenstein, V., & Sorensen, H. T. (2019). The Danish health care system and epidemiological research: From health care contacts to database records. Clinical Epidemiology, Volume 11(11), 563-591. https://doi.org/10.2147/clep.s179083

Schneider, R. C., & Squires, D. (2017, July 17). Could the U.S. health care system become the best in the world? Commonwealth Fund. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/journal-article/2017/jul/last-first-could-us-health-care-system-become-best-world