Thailand now ranks twenty seventh amongst 56 countries included within the Bloomberg Health Care Performance Index, up from forty first last yr, Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn said on Sunday, citing the 2018 rankings released last week.
Dr Piyasakol said Thailand made the largest leap of any country included within the index in 2018.
Thailand’s health care expenditure per capital is now $218 (about 7,086 baht) and the population’s life expectancy has increased to 75.1 years, he said, adding that Thailand’s progress within the medical tourism sector has also been recorded by the index.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Thailand’s healthcare efficiency ranks ninth – behind Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand and China, Dr Piyasakol said.
The top five places within the index are occupied by Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Italy and South Korea, respectively.
By comparison, Hong Kong’s per capita healthcare spending is $2,222 (about 71,900 baht), while life expectancy in Hong Kong is currently 84.3 years, he added.
The Bloomberg Healthcare Efficiency Index ranks countries with a population life expectancy of at the very least 70 years, a GDP per capita of greater than $5,000 a yr (about 162,000 baht) and a minimum population of 5 million, government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was very happy with Thailand’s jump within the index, while the World Health Organization (WHO) praised Thailand for being a very good learning model in national health security, said Lt. Gen. Sansern.
WHO considers Thailand’s national health security system to be sustainable because the country actively promotes public participation in improving the health sector, which the federal government intends to proceed to enhance to realize the next way of life for people, it said.
The Bloomberg Health Care Efficiency Index uses WHO data for 2015, which is essentially the most recent information available for many economies, Bloomberg said in an article published on its website about this yr’s index.
The rankings may change significantly every year attributable to aspects reminiscent of recession, currency fluctuations and spending patterns of residents in different countries monitored.
Source : post office in Bangkok
