HEALTHCARE COMPARISON BETWEEN THAILAND AND USA

The cross-country comparisons of healthcare field are essential to learning main strategies which can provide helpful guidelines and tips for other countries. Therefore, in this paper, I find it useful to compare Thailand and USA. The two countries have a wide range of variations regarding approaches. The main differences include life expectancy, cost, accessibility and patient`s satisfaction. Before its difference, it is good to learn about history. The non-communicable disease has the leading cause of DALYs across all gender at all ages. It is followed by injuries, maternal, communicable and neonatal infections. About 80% of the population lives in urban areas. 15 % of the population struggles under the poverty line while GDP per capita is $56 300(Sīthamrongsawat, Wisessang, &Ratjaroenkhajorn, 2009). It places the country 19th in the whole world regarding wealth.

Thailand currently has more than 400 private hospitals while public hospitals are over 1000. Coronary Angioplasty cost $4200 in Thailand while in the USA it cost $28200. Heart Bypass cost $15000 in Thailand while it cost $123000 in the USA. Hip replacement cost $17000 and 40364 in Thailand and USA respectively. Gastric Bypass cost $16800 in Thailand and $25000 in the USA (Hughes &Srithamrongsawat, 2014). A healthcare assistant and healthcare technician are the head of primary care at the sub-district level (Dulin, 2016). In most parts of Thailand, healthcare facilities are accessible within 30 minutes. The services are of high quality and inexpensive. It has numerous private and public hospitals. Doctors are trained in top medical schools over the world, and they speak fluent English. Many hospitals covering overseas treatment resemble hotels rather than hospitals.

Hospitals in the south have good accommodations that market healthcare operations alongside beach holidays. For the USA, accessibility to health care is affected by policies. Foreign travelers experience difficulties understanding and accessing the system. Many Americans are homeless, and the ability to access healthcare is limited. The primary care mainly consists of sub-district promoting hospitals. It was started in 2002 due to the expansion of Universal Healthcare Coverage policy. Other primary care includes outpatient hospitals, drug stores, health centers, and private clinics. Primary health care includes disease prevention, health promotion and medical services organized at the community level. The services providers are community members, special health volunteers, and non-government people. According to the America Hospital Association, there are 5627 registered hospitals and about 87.

5% of the figure is community hospitals. More than 3000 hospitals are found in urban areas. Around 2800 are non-governmental hospitals, and 1000 hospitals are local and state government hospitals. Majority of healthcare services are in hospitals, and they mainly rely on specialists and physicians to care for patients (Dulin, 2016). Conclusion The purpose of studying other nations’ system is not to copy or adopt that particular system but to see how adaptation can be made. Put differently; they are to learn what approaches those countries take to become successful regarding healthcare and how to apply them accordingly, given certain conditions of our country. Reforming American health care does not mean the United States could or should copy any country`s institutions exactly. References Defining Healthcare Quality and Value.