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Healthcare in Europe

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See also: Universal health coverage by country
European Health Insurance Card (French version pictured)

Healthcare in Europe is provided through a wide range of different systems run at individual national levels. Most European countries have a system of tightly regulated, competing private health insurance companies, with government subsidies available for citizens who cannot afford coverage.[1][2] Many European countries (and all European Union countries) offer their citizens a European Health Insurance Card which, on a reciprocal basis, provides insurance for emergency medical treatment insurance when visiting other participating European countries.[3]

European health

EU countries with the highest life expectancy (2019)[4]
World
Rank 		EU
Rank 		Country Life expectancy
at birth (years)
5. 1. Spain 83.4
6. 2. Italy 83.4
11. 3. Sweden 82.7
12. 4. France 82.5
13. 5. Malta 82.4
16. 6. Ireland 82.1
17. 7. Netherlands 82.1
19. 8. Luxembourg 82.1
20. 9. Greece 82.1

The World Health Organization has listed 53 countries as comprising the European region. Health outcomes vary greatly by country. Countries in western Europe have had a significant increase in life expectancy since World War II, while most of eastern Europe and the former Soviet countries have experienced a decrease in life expectancy.[5]

Tobacco use is the largest preventable cause of death in Europe. Many countries have passed legislation in the past few decades restricting tobacco sales and use.[5]

European Response of COVID-19

The emergence of the Coronavirus has upended life as we know it in various European Union countries. In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health infrastructures and resources, governmental, and cultural values all play a key role in stopping the threat. Finding an approach that balances effectiveness, efficiency, and successful response to the pandemic is the key to ending the crisis.  

European Union countries like Greece and Sweden have similar populations and sizes. They have a difficult cultural and political stance. The government response of various European countries to the pandemic was to stay home and slow down the spread of the virus. It was proactive in closing businesses and stores early on and even before the first COVID-19 death. The governmental response including the banning of all international non-essential travel and lockdowns helped to keep the death toll to a minimum.[6]

In comparison, the government response to COVID-19 in Sweden was much less stringent than in Greece. The government of Sweden focused on guidelines that encourage all citizens to take personal responsibility in containing the virus. The Public Health Agency of Sweden proposed a ban of gatherings over 500 people, including social distancing. The key concept proposed was solidarity through individual responsibility with all Swedish citizens obeying the guidelines.[7]

Triaging issues that determined medical priority to increase survival rates from COVID-19 contrasted between Sweden and Greece. The Europeans focused strictly on medical protocols and technical expertise from the medical field. This caused a fundamental collapse of the healthcare system, needless deaths, and a misinformed and distrusting public that demanded more accountability from the European Union members , the government and health professionals. With a similar population of 10 million people and other issues aside. As of December 10, 2021, there have been 18,982 deaths in Greece and 15,152 deaths in Sweden.[8]

European Union

The European Union has no major administrative responsibility in the field of healthcare. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumers however seeks to align national laws on the safety of food and other products, on consumers' rights, and on the protection of people's health, to form new EU wide laws and thus strengthen its internal markets. [citation needed]

Both the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control are involved in public health development in Europe.[9]

COVID-19 on European Healthcare

The European Union countries were greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The governments of the various countries adopted healthcare standards aimed at the number of infected and people who are deceased. A widespread vaccination campaign helped to lower the COVID-19 mortality rate. In addition to the COVID-19 vaccines, the mortality rates were determined by the number of physicians, the number of available Intensive care unit (ICU) beds, and the safety policies carried out by governments. Mortality rates varied considerably in Europe depending on whether the countries have a higher or lower rate of the adult population over 65 years of age. Studies show that having an adequate number of health professionals is one of the most important variables in reducing the number of deaths.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Sanger-Katz, Margot (19 February 2019). "What's the Difference Between a 'Public Option' and 'Medicare for All'?". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Abelson, Reed; Sanger-Katz, Margot (23 March 2019). "Medicare for All Would Abolish Private Insurance. 'There's No Precedent in American History.'". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "European Health Insurance Card". European Commission. Retrieved 23 August 2019. A free card that gives you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 28 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country.
  4. ^ "2019 Human Development Index Ranking | Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org.
  5. ^ a b Mackenbach, Johan P; Karanikolos, Marina; McKee, Martin (March 2013). "The unequal health of Europeans: successes and failures of policies". The Lancet. 381 (9872): 1125–1134. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)62082-0. hdl:1765/39673. PMID 23541053.
  6. ^ Petridou, Evangelia; Zahariadis, Nikolaos (2 January 2021). "Staying at home or going out? Leadership response to the COVID-19 crisis in Greece and Sweden". Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. 29: 293–302.
  7. ^ Larsson, Emma; Brattström, Olof (6 September 2020). "Characteristics and outcomes of patients with Covid‐19 admitted to ICU in a tertiary hospital in Stockholm, Sweden". Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica. 65: 76–81.
  8. ^ Orfali, Kristina (24 January 2021). "Getting to the truth: Ethics, trust, and triage in the United States versus Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic". Hastings Center Report. 51: 16–22.
  9. ^ "European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)". www.euro.who.int.
  10. ^ Cifuentes-Faura, Javier (2021). "Do the determinants of the COVID-19 mortality rate differ between European Union countries with different adult population pyramids?". Public Health. 198: 82–84.


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