Table 1 Characteristics of the health care systems in the HAPPY PATIENT project target countries
France | Greece | Lithuania | Poland | Spain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population (million) | 66.9 | 10.7 | 2.8 | 38.4 | 46.7 |
Proportion of population 65+ (%) | 19.8 | 21.9 | 19.7 | 17.2 | 19.3 |
Percentage of the gross domestic product to health | 11.3 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 8.9 |
Number of doctors in practice per 1000 inhabitants | 3.2 | 6.3 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 3.9 |
Number of nurses in practice per 1000 inhabitants | 10.8 | 3.3 | 7.7 | 5.1 | 5.7 |
Predominant mode of provision | Private | Public | Public | Public | Public |
Copayment of patients in primary care | Yes | No, public providers | No | No | No |
Copayment of patients in prescriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Organisation in primary care | Groups of GPs and other HCPs or single-handed practices | Groups of GPs and other HCPs | Groups of GPs and other HCPs | Individual and group GPs and other HCPs | Groups of GPs and other HCPs |
The patient must be registered with a GP | No, but they have advantages if registered | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Freedom of choice of GP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Gatekeeping. GP referral requirement | For some specialist care | Not required | For most specialist care | For some specialist care | For most specialist care |
Remuneration of GPs | Mix of salary, payment for service, and capitation | Mix of salary and payment for services | Mix of payment for services and capitation | Mix of capitation and payment for services | Mix of salary and capitation |
GP mean income per year (in euros) | 50,263 | 25,000 | 10,782 | 38,400 | 45,000 |
Average population size per GP | 864 | – | 1550 | 1539 | 1500 |
Frequency of GP medical consultations per inhabitant and year | 6.0 | 4.2 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 3.0 |
Status of long-term care providers | Mixed provider status: public (58%); not-for-profit organizations (religious groups, corporate org.) (26%); private (16%) | Mixed provider status: public sector (appr. 1/3); private, mainly for-profit and some not for-profit (ie. church charitable org. and local authorities) (appr. 2/3) | Mixed provider status: public (appr. 50%); private (appr. 50%) | Mixed provider status: public (appr. 70%); private sector (appr. 30%) | Mixed provider status: public (26.6%); private (71,9%) |
Number of pharmacies per 100,000 inhabitants | 33 | 88 | 40 | 36 | 47 |