Iceland: health system review.

Iceland: health system review. Health Syst Transit. 2014 Dec;16(6):1-182 Authors: Sigurgeirsdottir S, Waagfjoro J, Maresso A Abstract This analysis of the Icelandic health system reviews the developments in its organization and governance, health financing, health care provision, health reforms and health system performance. Life expectancy at birth is high and Icelandic men and women enjoy longer life in good health than the average European. However, Icelanders are putting on weight, more than half of adult Icelanders were overweight or obese in 2004, and total consumption of alcohol has increased considerably since 1970. The health care system is a small, state centred, publicly funded system with universal coverage, and an integrated purchaser provider relationship in which the state as payer is also the owner of most organizations providing health care services. The countrys centre of clinical excellence is the University Hospital, Landspitali, in the capital Reykjavik, which alone accounts for 70 percent of the total national budget for general hospital services. However, since 1990, the health system has become increasingly characterized by a mixed economy of care and service provision, in which the number and scope of private non profit and private for profit providers has increased. While Icelands health outcomes are some of the best among OECD countries, the health care system faces challenges involving the financial sustai...
Source: Health systems in transition - Category: Health Management Tags: Health Syst Transit Source Type: news