Events

Consumer-driven healthcare system

Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer.

Switzerland is a landlocked country geogra- Sphically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately eight million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva.

“Switzerland is a very small country with a small population, and it actually has very few natural resources,” Saadia Zahidi, Senior Director of the World Economic Forum.

“The biggest resource it does have is people, and that’s what it’s been investing in for quite some time. It’s led to man economy that is competitive, highly innovative, and has adopted technology fast.”

Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Switzerland ranks at or near the top globally in several metrics of national performance, including government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and human development. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer.

“Countries that invest in human capital end up getting returns in terms of economic growth,” says Zahidi. “And then countries that have that economic growth are able to reinvest further in human capital. So you have this virtuous cycle that’s established.”

Human capital is a function of four pillars: health and wellness, education, work and employment, and what WEF calls an “enabling environment,” which includes factors like legal framework and infrastructure that allow for returns on human capital. Switzerland topped the index by generating high scores across the four pillars, coming in first in the health and wellness and workforce and employment categories, second for enabling environment and fourth in education — which goes a long way in explaining the success of the Swiss economy.

Top healthcare system When it comes to health and wellness — taking into account longevity, infant mortality, and the general state of physical and mental health of the population, and quality of healthcare — the Index places the Swiss in the number-one spot. The Swiss have the lowest government spending on health care in the developed world — and some of the healthiest citizens.

Swiss healthcare combines public, subsidized private and totally private healthcare systems to create an extensive network of highly qualified doctors (many of them from elsewhere in the EU) and Swiss hospitals, the best-equipped medical facilities and no waiting lists – but it all comes at a price. İstifadəçinin özünü rahat hiss etməsi və diqqətini yayındırmaması üçün BetAndreas, əyləncəyə girişi asanlaşdıran göyərtə adı və ya müəllifə görə oyun tapmağa kömək edən bir axtarış xüsusiyyəti də təklif edir. betandreas Yalnız nisbətdəki dəyişiklikləri qəbul etmək/qəbul etməmək və "Mərc et"düyməsini basmaq qalır.

It is the only developed country with a long-standing consumer-driven health care system, providing broad evidence and important lessons about its efficacy.

Unlike most of its European neighbors, it is a haven of quiet in a roiling sea. Its consumer-driven health care system mirrors the country’s traditional independence, as citizens may freely choose plans, and its solidarity, as it requires everyone to purchase health insurance and subsidizes the needy. But it more closely mirrors its neighbors’ centrally controlled health care systems in the constraints placed on insurers and providers.

“The Swiss have universal coverage, the healthiest population in the Western Hemisphere, and a government that spends a mere 2.7%of GDP on health care: about a third of what ours spends,” writes Forbes’s Avik Roy. “ The Swiss system isn’t perfectly transposable onto the United States, but it is vastly superior. And the Swiss do it with a top federal income tax rate of only 11.5 %, compared to 35 % in the US of A.”

Healthcare funding

Switzerland’s healthcare system derives a significant portion of funding from mandatory Swiss health insurance premiums (averaging around EUR 450 per month) and out-of-pocket payments, meaning there is no free healthcare in Switzerland. In line with the high cost of living in Switzerland, Swiss health insurance equals around 10 percent of the average Swiss salary.

Basic healthcare facts

1 – Switzerland spends the highest percentage of GDP on healthcare (around 11.4 percent) compared to all EU countries.

2 – Basic health insurance is compulsory in Switzerland, although you are free to choose your own Swiss health insurance company.

3 – In the EU’s latest statistics, Switzerland was the only country compared to the EU to total more than EUR 4,500 per inhabitant on healthcare expenditure.

4 – The OECD reports that Switzerland’s healthcare expenditure is the second highest among all OECD countries (along with the Netherlands), with the US in first place, totaling almost double the OECD average spent per inhabitant.

5 – Out-of-pocket spending, however, accounted for just over a quarter of all health spending, which is relatively
high compared to the OECD average of 19.5 percent and neighboring countries such as Austria (17 percent), Germany (13 percent) and France (7 percent).

6 – Healthcare is largely organized by Switzerland’s individual communes. The health ministers from all cantons form the Swiss Conference of the Cantonal Ministers of Public Health (GDK), which aims to promote cooperation & implement common policies between cantons.

MoU signing

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) has announced that it recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swiss multinational pharmaceutical firm Hoffman-La Roche with specialties in treating tumors, among others. The agreement aims to address the growing number of cancer cases in the UAE and reduce death rates by 25 per cent by the end of 2021 as part of the Ministry’s efforts to find innovative cancer treatments and ensure that health services are on par with international best practices.

Dr. Youssif Al Serkal, Assistant Undersecretary for the Hospitals Sector at MOHAP, and Abed Al Rahman Sabra, Country Manager of Hoffman-La Roche, signed the MoU at the MOHAP headquarters in the presence of Dr. Muna Al Kuwari, Director of Specialized Healthcare at the Ministry, and a delegate from the pharmaceutical firm.

Dr. Al Serkal said that cancer incidences in the UAE are spreading at a rate lower than those of Western countries, noting that the Ministry of Health continues to expand its partnerships with various organizations to bring in quality healthcare for cancer patients as part of its strategy to improve health facilities as well as its systems and ensure easy access in accordance with international standards. These efforts are in line with the UAE’s goal to become one of the best countries in the world in providing quality healthcare with key targets embodied in the National Agenda under the UAE Vision 2021.

He further stated that he is positive about the key directions of the strategic partnership with Hoffman-La Roche, which will focus on formulating a national index for cancer deaths per 100,000 of the population. The Ministry will also work on the creation of a national committee in cooperation with other health authorities to develop a plan to control the growth of cancer & reduce deaths by 25 percent by 2021, based on the 2013 baseline.

Hoffman-La Roche’s Sabra commented: “We are confident that this strategic partnership with the Ministry of Health and Prevention in the UAE will support the effective implementation of this noble initiative. We will build on our role in this partnership to provide the necessary expertise to assess the current situation and support the development of a national program for the fight against cancer. We thank the Ministry for this partnership and we are committed to meet our key targets.”

Under the MoU, Hoffman-La Roche will provide tools and statistics for strategic analysis and expertise in the fight
against cancer and prepare a road map to achieve the target index. It will also conduct a situational analysis,
track diagnosis and forms of therapy and support research studies on how to control cancer. The firm will support workshops and educational activities, training and awareness campaigns, as well as other MOHAP innovative activities related to the initiative as well.