Graphic: Irish forced to spend more on health

Irish people have to spend more of their household budget on health than most other countries and are more likely to go without medical and dental care, according to a survey of the world’s most developed economies.

Ireland, together with Australia, has the biggest proportion of people with health insurance in countries where this means they face shorter waiting times, the OECD report, Health at a Glance says.

Patients in Turkey and France have more of their medical costs covered by the state, while Greece and Switzerland have the least.

There are a number of reasons why people are not having their medical and dental needs met, such as lack of money, waiting times, or long distance to travel, the report explains.

Those in Austria and the Netherlands are the least likely to be in this situation.

Higher spending does not necessarily mean a better health service, nor does more people or equipment, the report says.

Ireland is in the middle when it comes to spending per capita on health, but it has fewer doctors than most countries — Greece has the highest figure, per head of population — while it is in the top 20% when it comes to the number of nurses.

However, Ireland had the highest number of medical graduates in 2013.

The US spends more per person than all other OECD countries, but it has fewer doctors or nurses.

The number of hospital beds is not always an indication of a good health system, either, since a good primary care system reduces the need for people to be in hospital, the report says.

Ireland, for instance, has fewer hospital beds than most countries, but it has the highest rate of admissions to hospital among the 34 OECD countries for asthma and related breathing ailments.

The report says this is related to primary care.

“A high-performing primary care system can reduce acute deterioration in people living with asthma and prevent their admission to hospital.”

Expensive technology, such as MRI and CT scanners, is not necessarily an indication of a good medical system. The US has the most, much more than Mexico and Britain, while Ireland comes midway. There is no ideal level of such equipment per head of population, but they are being over-used in some countries, the report says.

Greater spending does not always mean that people have better access to healthcare or to higher quality of care, the report says.

“The performance of health systems in achieving the key policy goals of universal access and quality depends not only on allocating more money on healthcare, but also on making a more rational use of resources and providing the right incentives to ensure the best value for money spent.”