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Topics: Europe, Health, News, World News, Netherlands, Germany
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Europe, Health, News, World News, Netherlands, Germany
A doctor has revealed what country they would live in if the quality of the healthcare was the determining factor, and it isn’t the US.
Quality healthcare is something the majority of people want in their society but many remain unaware of how different things are country to country. Many countries have unique systems, with varying degrees of success, and a doctor has revealed the country he feels has the best.
Speaking on The Checkup with Doctor Mike podcast, American oncologist Dr. Zeke Emanuel highlighted some of the benefits people outside of the US enjoy.
In a show a few weeks ago, Doctor Mike questioned if Dr Emanuel had to be born today, what country would he like it to be in, based on the quality of its healthcare system. While Dr. Zeke Emanuel said that he wouldn’t choose a country to live in based solely on healthcare, playing along with the hypothetical, he highlighted three nations, all in Europe.
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He also plugged his book about countries with the best healthcare before giving his answer.
He said the three nations he would consider are the Netherlands, Germany, and Norway.
Explaining the pros of each nation, especially the Netherlands, he commended the country for the things they are doing right when it comes to healthcare and why it would be so beneficial to people.
He said: “The big winners were the Netherlands, Germany and Norway.
“They are definitely emphasizing, especially the Netherlands and Norway, primary care.
“To get to a specialist you really have to go through a primary care doctor, they put control on prices, especially in the Netherlands where they give you choices on different sickness funds, they call them, their insurers.
“They make their primary care doctors manage mental health conditions, so almost all of them have nurses who manage mental health.
“They have doctors or nurses who are accessible 24/7 who have access to your medical records and they only spend 12 percent of their budget so they have a lot of other money that can be spent on enhancing schools, infrastructure, environment and other things that make people happy.”
The healthcare in the Netherlands is something the nation has historically been praised for and is proud of.
The country’s National Health Care System website explained the nation's success is due to underpinning a few basic principles: “Access to care for all, solidarity through medical insurance (which is compulsory for all and available to all) and high-quality health care services.”