Increasing access to and quality of health care remain two of the crucial goals on the agenda of modern health care. Health care experts have been seeking ways of making the current health care system accessible and easy to use, applying innovative technology and creating new communication channels for patient-nurse interaction and patient education. Due to the vast coverage and the opportunity to receive all the needed services disregarding the type of insurance selected, the extent of German health care accessibility is truly impressive (Drabinski et al., 2020). Therefore, due to its coverage, low entrance fees, and focus on quality, German health care should be seen as outstanding compared to other health care types.
When considering the aspects of German health care that make it so effective, one should mention the issue of coverage first. The lack of opportunity to provide access to healthcare for every citizen is one of the major concerns for most healthcare systems. According to PBS’s “Sick around the world,” the problem of coverage represents one of the main impediments to effective care (“PBS Frontline: Sick around the world,” 2017). For instance, despite its comparative efficiency, the U.S. health care system “leaves 47 million people without coverage and drives hundreds of thousands into bankruptcy each year” (“PBS Frontline: Sick around the world,” 2017). Therefore, a system where coverage remains one of the main accomplishments is worth viewing as exemplary.
Additionally, apart from the coverage issue, the German health care system is excellent in its approach to cost management. Indeed, when examining current health care systems, one will need to concede that tremendous expenses, particularly, those taken to administer the required medications and perform the necessary tests, as well as interventions, especially surgical ones, demand substantial financial resources. In turn, in the German health care system, “medical providers and sickness funds negotiate the standard prices, and this cuts administrative costs” (“PBS Frontline: Sick around the world,” 2017). As a result, the access to health care services increases, whereas the quality of care remains consistent, and the range of health care interventions and management services remains the same for all citizens. Thus, the German health care system is worth appreciating as a framework implemented correctly, with all resources allocated in a manner as accurate and efficient as possible.
Finally, the fact that the healthcare service delivery framework is treated as a market process and performed by private organizations also allows for making the healthcare framework more flexible. Thus, citizens from rural areas and smaller towns have the opportunity to address health care experts uninhibitedly and enjoy the same range of services, which may include even alternative medicine and homeopathy (Lemmen et al., 2021). Thus, the wide range of opportunities and incredible flexibility make German health care particularly efficient.
With the vast coverage that encompasses every type of population, as well as helps to address every possible health concern, the health care system deployed in Germany should be considered an exemplary model for the rest of the countries to follow. The model appears to be especially important when comparing it to some of the less successful implementations of the ostensibly all-encompassing models, such as Medicare. Therefore, the approach developed in Germany should be regarded as an example to align with other states since it gives a chance to manage key public health concerns, while also reaching out to underserviced communities.
References
Drabinski, T., Zacharowski, K., Meybohm, P., Rüger, A. M., & de Arellano, A. R. (2020). Estimating the epidemiological and economic impact of implementing preoperative anemia measures in the German healthcare system: the health economic footprint of patient blood management. Advances in Therapy, 37(8), 3515-3536. Web.
Lemmen, C., Woopen, C., & Stock, S. (2021). Systems medicine 2030: A Delphi study on implementation in the German healthcare system. Health Policy, 125(1), 104-114. Web.
PBS Frontline: Sick around the world. (2017). [Video] YouTube.