RT Book, Section
A1 OECD
T1 Improving the performance of the public health care system
JF OECD Economic Surveys: Greece
YR 2009
FD Jul 31
VO 2009
IS 15
SP 85
OP 121
AB Greek health outcomes compare favourably with the OECD average. However, the health care system is seen as not working well by the population. One source of dissatisfaction is the high proportion of private household spending on health, including informal payments, while public health spending relative to GDP is one of the lowest in the OECD. This situation leads to inequities in access to certain medical services. Also, there is a weakening of efficiency of the system, which should be addressed sooner than later in view of a rising demand for medical services, which is going to intensify in the coming decades, and the need to keep government health care spending in check. This calls for reforms in four areas: i) reviewing the excessively fragmented structure of the health care system and its governance; ii) enhancing the quality of public primary health care services; iii) modernising hospital administration; and iv) further tightening control over pharmaceutical expenditure.
PB Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DO 10.1787/eco_surveys-grc-2009-5-en
UL http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/;jsessionid=fhykzv8m7lg8.x-oecd-live-02content/chapter/eco_surveys-grc-2009-5-en