Health System Characteristics
Health System Characteristics Overview
The Health System Characteristics category displayed the second lowest average score (55.5/100) and the smallest range between scores (35 points). Portugal (75.6), Italy, Greece, South Korea, and Spain were the top performers, while New Zealand (40.8), Denmark, Norway, India, and Czechia scored the lowest. COPD-related hospitalisations per 100,000 population vary widely between countries, with a range of over 300 hospitalisations per 100,000 people between the top and bottom scorers. When New Zealand, the lowest scorer within the hospitalisations indicator and a major outlier compared to the other Index countries, was removed, the range between the remaining countries was still considerable at over 210 hospitalisations per 100,000 people.
Health System Characteristics Key Takeaways
The most important takeaways on Healthcare System Characteristics from the COPD index
Health System Characteristics
Specialists Needed: Relatively Low Respiratory Specialist Density in Countries. There is a significant relationship between higher respiratory specialist density and lower COPD hospitalisations.
Health System Characteristics
Discrepancies in data reporting standards limit full understanding of COPD health outcomes and impact: Significant discrepancies exist in COPD data collection and reporting, with around one-third of the countries lacking standardised reporting protocols, or having reliable data available.
Health System Characteristics
Lack of health workforce: Countries significantly differ in number of respiratory specialists, and particularly primary care physicians, impacting overall health system characteristics, and possibly care access
Healthcare System Characteristics Indicators
Ranking across countries through different indicators of COPD Access and Care Coverage