Ireland and the Netherlands:
Differences in Tuberculosis Treatment Success Rates
Introduction Ireland and the Netherlands are considered high-income group countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of $12,736 or more (The World Bank, 2014). The countries are comparable across key health indicators such as infant mortality rate, crude birth rate, life expectancy at birth, and maternal mortality ratio (Table 1). Despite similar economics and key health indicators, tuberculosis treatment success rate highlights the health outcome differences between the countries. In 2013, The World Bank reported a tuberculosis (TB) treatment success rate of 59% in Ireland and 88% in the Netherlands. Health system differences across service delivery, …show more content…
In general, the Netherlands reduced its overall use of pharmaceuticals, decreasing its overall spending, and allowing for greater subsidies for common drugs (OECD Health Statistics 2014: How does the Netherlands compare?, 2014). As a result, only 2% of the population of the Netherlands has indicated that they skipped or did not refill a prescription drug due to costs as a prohibitive factor (Morgan & Kennedy, 2010). To maintain low cost and high accessibility to pharmaceuticals, they use a system of reference pricing and price ceilings based on comparison countries (Morgan & Kennedy, …show more content…
Its national care system provides an insurance plan that minimally covers primary and secondary care visits, resulting in high out-of-pocket fees for patients. Citizens have the option to select public or private insurances. Overall, 16.9% of its total healthcare expenditures are out-of-pocket expenses from families and individuals (OECD Health Statistics 2014: How does Ireland Compare?, 2014). These high out-of-pocket expenses discourage use of primary care services that are often the first line in identifying infectious
Differences in Tuberculosis Treatment Success Rates
Introduction Ireland and the Netherlands are considered high-income group countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of $12,736 or more (The World Bank, 2014). The countries are comparable across key health indicators such as infant mortality rate, crude birth rate, life expectancy at birth, and maternal mortality ratio (Table 1). Despite similar economics and key health indicators, tuberculosis treatment success rate highlights the health outcome differences between the countries. In 2013, The World Bank reported a tuberculosis (TB) treatment success rate of 59% in Ireland and 88% in the Netherlands. Health system differences across service delivery, …show more content…
In general, the Netherlands reduced its overall use of pharmaceuticals, decreasing its overall spending, and allowing for greater subsidies for common drugs (OECD Health Statistics 2014: How does the Netherlands compare?, 2014). As a result, only 2% of the population of the Netherlands has indicated that they skipped or did not refill a prescription drug due to costs as a prohibitive factor (Morgan & Kennedy, 2010). To maintain low cost and high accessibility to pharmaceuticals, they use a system of reference pricing and price ceilings based on comparison countries (Morgan & Kennedy, …show more content…
Its national care system provides an insurance plan that minimally covers primary and secondary care visits, resulting in high out-of-pocket fees for patients. Citizens have the option to select public or private insurances. Overall, 16.9% of its total healthcare expenditures are out-of-pocket expenses from families and individuals (OECD Health Statistics 2014: How does Ireland Compare?, 2014). These high out-of-pocket expenses discourage use of primary care services that are often the first line in identifying infectious