Healthcare app development company Medical Web Experts has released a study in partnership with Bridge Patient Portal that reveals and compares the raw cost of healthcare services in different countries around the world.
The study provides insights into how healthcare systems and costs vary from country to country by looking at the actual cost of healthcare services – whether paid for by governments, insurance companies or out-of-pocket by citizens.
The study assessed levels of healthcare expenditure, insurance contributions, and different healthcare costs. As well as general healthcare costs such as medicine prices and outpatient care costs, the researchers also analysed how much it costs to treat a COVID patient in intensive care in each country.
The study began by assessing every country in the world, before the final list was cut to 60 countries with reliable and comparable data. Next, the researchers analysed healthcare expenditure in each country by looking at the total annual healthcare expenditure per capita on things such as social security, inpatient and outpatient care, and medical goods. Following this, they identified the percentage of people in each country that have access to essential healthcare services.
The health insurance landscape in each country was then assessed, and finally, the researchers studied the cost of healthcare in each country.
Key findings include that:
– Overall annual expenditure on healthcare is highest in the US at $10,921 per capita, ahead of Switzerland ($9,666) and Norway ($8,007).
South Africa’s cost was minimal, in comparison, at $547.
– Average medicine prices are highest in the US, costing 1309.48% more than the dataset median, followed by Mexico (+153.92%) and Switzerland (+143.00%). Turkey has the cheapest medicine prices at 70.21% less than the dataset median.
South Africa: -14.71% from the dataset median.
– The average nightly cost of caring for a COVID patient in intensive care, incorporating labor costs, equipment, testing and drugs, is highest in the US ($20,939), followed by Norway ($11,590) and Switzerland ($9,297).
SA’s cost was $1,390.
– Citizens in the US contribute the most to healthcare schemes through taxation and compulsory health insurance (700.62% more than the dataset median), followed by Norway (+509.22%) and Switzerland (+472.16%). Citizens in Nigeria contribute the least at 98.85% less than the dataset median.
– In South Africa, the average nightly cost of caring for a COVID patient in intensive care is $1,390, the #42 highest in the study.
Issued by Medical Web Experts