Czechia COPD Index
Rank
(out of 24 countries)
26
Index Score
(out of 100)
60.84
Deaths
(as a % of overall deaths)
2.82%
Smoking Rate
30.7%
Societal Costs
(cost per person)
$1363
Above average performance
Average performance
Below average performance
Czechia has the 5th highest score in the Access and Care Coverage category, with good conditions for COPD diagnosis, universal health care coverage, and strong care referral pathways.
Czechia has the 5th highest score in the Access and Care Coverage category, with good conditions for COPD diagnosis, universal health care coverage, and strong care referral pathways. It also scores slightly above average in the Environmental Factors category, with good indoor air quality and relatively low particulate matter levels. However, in the Policy Context category, Czechia reports a below-average score, mainly due to weak adherence to COPD guidelines and the lack of a national strategy for COPD. However, Czechia reports relatively strong tobacco control policies. The disease burden of COPD is relatively high in Czechia, with a high smoking rate as well as a high COPD prevalence and estimated societal cost of COPD. Czechia’s score in the Health System Characteristics category is among the lowest due to a lack of health data infrastructure and a low density of primary care physicians.
COPD Index Key Takeaways
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following takeaways regarding COPD care in Czechia.
Good conditions for COPD diagnosis, universal health care coverage, and strong care referral pathways
Improvement in COPD guideline adherence and the development of a national strategy for COPD would significantly improve Czechia’s score
Poor conditions for health data collection and reporting
Best Practices for COPD Care
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following best practices regarding COPD care in Czechia.
Education of general practitioners and regional specialists
Cooperation between GPs and respiratory specialists in the functional diagnosis of COPD may be gradually improving
Information campaign about COPD
Challenges for COPD Care
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following challenges regarding COPD care in Czechia.
Only slowly decreasing exposure to cigarette smoke, outdoor air pollution (not meeting current WHO criteria, especially for PM2.5)
Low COPD awareness among the public
Significant levels of underdiagnosis and unmet medical needs (very few middle-aged oligosymptomatic persons at risk seek medical attention)
Opportunities for COPD Care
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following opportunities regarding COPD care in Czechia.
The planned and upcoming national Lung Health programme, including a case finding approach to the diagnosis of serious respiratory diseases (especially bronchogenic carcinoma and COPD)
Measures aimed at reducing air pollution and continuing the campaign against active smoking, not only of conventional cigarettes
An upcoming project aimed at comprehensive training of inhalation techniques among health care professionals and patients
Priorities for COPD Care
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following priorities regarding COPD care in Czechia.
Improve allocation of the health care budget
Include COPD prevention in the national health care strategy towards 2030
Support approval of innovative treatments
Compare Czechia to other countries
Select different countries to see how they scored across each of the 5 categories and overall
Key Contributor Insights
“Respiratory specialists (of which there are 600) are the main prescribers of inhaled and oral medication, including the indication of other targeted therapeutic interventions (bronchoscopic interventions, augmentation therapy, surgical lung volume reduction, long-term oxygen, non-invasive ventilation, etc.). General practitioners (of which there are 5,000) have not been very involved in the care of COPD patients so far (there were limitations on reimbursement by health insurance and others).”
Sources
You can view the data sources for this country HERE