Healthcare in developing and developed nations:

Health care differs from nation to nation, sometimes substantially depending upon the level of economic development and the political system in place. Health care systems, on the global scale, are best defined via the World Health Organization's definition: "A health system consists of all organizations, people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health. This includes efforts to influence determinants of health as well as more direct health-improving activities. A health system is therefore more than the pyramid of publicly owned facilities that deliver personal health services. “This definition is important when observing international health care systems, as it captures both developed and developing nations within this context.

Comparisons between healthcare in developing and developed nations:

Developed Nations

The World Health Organization has been actively measuring a variety of performance indicators to determine an overall ranking system for health care on a global scale. While this has seen some objections, primarily due to the selection of attributes which weigh into this ranking, it is designed to measure critical success factors which are easily comparably across borders (apples to apples). These measured attributes include health of the population, fair financial contributions, and responsiveness of the system, preventable deaths, affordability and a range of other considerations.

The countries which perform the highest on these metrics are primarily located in Europe (generally northern Europe), where social systems are well designed at a governmental level to ensure prices remain accessible and care remain available. Interestingly, the U.S. has consistently ranked poorly and continues to perform substantially below European counterparts deemed developed at similar economic levels. Two good examples are provided in the media relative to the overall capital costs and the subsequent returns on these costs, on being costs to hospital beds per capita and the other costs to physicians per capita. By these measures, European nations capture more value and efficiency within their systems. The most notable difference between these systems is that the US is that, of these countries, the US is the only country without universal healthcare.

Let us explore further through an example of health care in German (though not all European countries are the same). Germany has consistently demonstrated reductions in cost of health care per capita relative to GDP growth. German health care is regulated by the Federal Joint Commission, a public health organization which leverages governmental health reform bills to generate new regulations. This system also includes a total of 85% of the population on the government offered standardized health care plan, which covers a variety of health care needs across the board. The remaining 15% of the population has opted for private health insurance options, which provide unique niche benefits for specific groups. This system has been highly effective and affordable in providing health care to German citizens.

Developing Nations

The countries who are going through the initial levels of industrial development along with low per capita income are known as Developing Countries. These countries come under the category of third world countries. They are also known as lower developed countries.

Developing Countries depend upon the Developed Countries, to support them in establishing industries across the country. The country has a low Human Development Index (HDI) i.e. the country does not enjoy healthy and safe environment to live, low Gross Domestic Product, high illiteracy rate, poor educational, transportation, communication and medical facilities, unsustainable government debt, unequal distribution of income, high death rate and birth rate, malnutrition both to mother and infant which case high infant mortality rate, poor living conditions, high level of unemployment and poverty.

The following are the names of some developing countries: China, Colombia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, U.A.E.

With fewer resources, developing nations struggle to compete provide the same access to health care as do developed nations.

China is an interesting case study. China has a great deal of variance in quality and accessibility, with hospital wait times for the poor (depending on severity) taking many hours (sometimes days) compared to the rich, who are admitted immediately. Transitioning towards a system that provides care to the rich and the poor alike is the primary challenge in these developing regions.

Key Differences between Developed and Developing Countries

The following are the major differences between developed countries and developing countries

1. The countries which are independent and prosperous are known as Developed Countries. The countries which are facing the beginning of industrialization are called Developing Countries.
2. Developed Countries have a high per capita income and GDP as compared to Developing Countries.
3. In Developed Countries the literacy rate is high, but in Developing Countries illiteracy rate is high.
4. Developed Countries have good infrastructure and a better environment in terms of health and safety, which are absent in Developing Countries.
5. Developed Countries generate revenue from the service sector. Conversely, Developing Countries generate revenue from the industrial sector.
6. In developed countries the standard of living of people is high which is in contrast to developing countries.
7. Resources are effectively and efficiently utilized in developed countries. On the other hand, proper utilization of resources is not done in developing countries.
8. In developed countries the birth rate and death rate are low, whereas in developing countries both the rates are high.

Challenges faced by developing nations to provide adequate healthcare..

Many developing countries also strive to provide universal health care. However, most struggle to do so, due to lack of sufficient resources, or inappropriate use of existing funds. Health inequality, therefore, is quite common.

Poverty is a major problem. In some developing countries health facilities have improved considerably, creating a health divide where those who can afford it can receive good quality care. Health gaps typically mirror equality gaps. For the enormous numbers of people without access to health, there is a terrible paradox: poverty exacerbates poor health while poor health makes it harder to get out of poverty.

Corruption is an ever-present problem (sometimes in wealthy countries too). Corruption not only makes the problem worse, but some policies have encouraged corruption, too, as has the lack of health resources.

Another issue that plagues some poor countries is “brain drain” whereby the poor countries educate some of their population to key jobs such as in medical areas and other professions only to find that some rich countries try to attract them away.

In many poorer countries, the number of health workers such as doctors and nurses in proportion to the population can be small and in many rural settings, it can be very difficult for people to access services.

The issue of user payment at point of use is perhaps more important in poorer countries than the wealthier ones. In wealthy ones, other than the US, universal health care works such that even where people have to pay at point of use, in many cases it is affordable.

Around the world, however, the problem can be worse as the WHO notes:

“Most of the world’s health-care systems continue to rely on the most inequitable method for financing health-care services: out-of-pocket payments by the sick or their families at the point of service. For 5.6 billion people in low- and middle-income countries, over half of all health-care expenditure is through out-of-pocket payments. This deprives many families of needed care because they cannot afford it. Also, more than 100 million people around the world are pushed into poverty each year because of catastrophic health-care expenditures. There is a wealth of evidence demonstrating that financial protection is better, and catastrophic expenditure less frequent, in those countries in which there is more prepayment for health care and less out-of-pocket payment. Conversely, catastrophic expenditure is more frequent when health care has to be paid for out-of-pocket at the point of service.

_{WHO World Report 2008},”

In developing countries, especially the poorest ones, a large portion of health funded is dependent upon external or foreign aid. However, some spending programs may divert from general needs to specific needs, such as building hospitals (as opposed to strengthening primary care), or funding for specific diseases (which is usually treatment based with less visible effort on preventative care), etc.

Conclusion

There is a big difference between Developed Countries and Developing Countries as the developed countries are self-contained and flourished while the developing countries are emerging as a developed country. Developing Countries are the one who experience the phase of development for the first time. If we talk about developed countries, they are post-industrial economies and due to this reason the maximum part of their revenue comes from the service sector.

Developed Countries are having a high Human Development Index as compared to Developing Countries. The former has established itself in all fronts and made itself sovereign by its efforts while the latter is still struggling to achieve the same.