International Comparisons of Bulgaria’s Health System Performance

Relative to other comparable income and health spending countries, Bulgaria has more physicians per capita. Bulgaria’s physician to population ratio increased from 2.5 in 1980 to 3.8 physicians per 1000 population in 2011. The physician to populati...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	World Bank
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2015
Subjects:	RISKS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC GROWTH RATES PHYSICIAN STROKE FINANCING DEATHS INCOME QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE PREVENTION DOCTORS PREMATURE DEATH GOVERNMENT SPENDING LIVE BIRTHS REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY SPENDING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SERVICES HEALTH CARE REVENUES FINANCIAL PROTECTION HEALTH MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS INFORMAL PAYMENTS HEALTH WORKERS PRIVATE INSURANCE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE TAX ADULT POPULATION POCKET PAYMENTS SMOKERS HOSPITAL PUBLIC HEALTH LIFE EXPECTANCY QUALITY OF HEALTH MATERNAL MORTALITY HEALTH SECTOR INSURANCE FUNDS HEALTH STATUS MINISTRY OF HEALTH DISEASES CAUSES OF DEATH INFECTIOUS DISEASES PATIENT PATIENTS SMOKING RISK FACTOR HEALTH INDICATORS HEALTH SYSTEM PERFORMANCE EXCHANGE RATES AGING SOCIAL INSURANCE NURSES DENTAL CARE MORTALITY RATE SOCIAL SECURITY LABOR TAX REVENUES PUBLIC HEALTH SPENDING GLOBAL HEALTH PER MORTALITY GRANTS PUBLIC ELDERLY TAXES RESPECT CANCER HEALTH SPENDING PROGRESS UNEMPLOYMENT FINANCIAL RISK PROTECTION EQUITY INFANT MORTALITY INFANT MIDWIFE WORKERS POLICIES QUALITY OF CARE TRANSPARENCY PATIENT SATISFACTION NURSE CARE PENSIONS PUBLIC HEALTH EXPENDITURE HEALTH OUTCOMES LIFE EXPECTANCIES LONG-TERM CARE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT EXPENDITURES INCOME COUNTRIES LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES PATIENTS’ RIGHTS TAX RATES BEDS INJURIES CARE SYSTEMS CITIZENS BURDEN OF DISEASE TAX REVENUE RISK FACTORS HEALTH EXPENDITURE PER CAPITA MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO REVENUE COLLECTION HEALTH SYSTEM INSURANCE TAXATION COMMUNICABLE DISEASES MEDICAL STAFF PHYSICIANS CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES OBESITY MORTALITY RATIO EVALUATION RISK INPATIENT CARE MIDWIVES POVERTY HEALTH EXPENDITURE DISABILITY REVENUE PRIVATE SPENDING HOSPITAL BEDS POPULATION FINANCIAL RISK HEALTH FINANCING PUBLIC SPENDING GOVERNMENTS HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS INFANT MORTALITY RATE CAPITA HEALTH SPENDING HEALTH SERVICES INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS EPIDEMIOLOGICAL TRANSITION INFANT DEATHS
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/11/25465330/international-comparisons-bulgaria’s-health-system-performance-background-paper http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23246

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Summary:	Relative to other comparable income and health spending countries, Bulgaria has more physicians per capita. Bulgaria’s physician to population ratio increased from 2.5 in 1980 to 3.8 physicians per 1000 population in 2011. The physician to population ratio is comparable to the EU-12 average of 3.8 physicians per 1000 population in 2012 but is higher than the EU-15 average of 3.1 physicians per 1000 population in 2012. Bulgaria has achieved significant improvements in health outcomes over time but is still falling behind most EU countries on key health indicators. Infant mortality decreased from 24.5 in 1980 to 10.5 per 1,000 live births in 2012 (Figure 5). Infant mortality in Bulgaria is slightly lower relative to other comparable income and health spending countries. Despite the significant reduction, however, Bulgaria’s infant mortality rate is still more than three times higher than the EU-15 average of 3.2 infant deaths per 1000 live births and almost twice as high as the EU-12 average of 5.5 infant deaths per 1000 live births. More significant improvements were achieved in reducing maternal mortality, which fell from 24 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010. The maternal mortality ratio in Bulgaria is low compared to the global averages relative to income and health spending. Bulgaria has surpassed the EU-12 average of 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births and is approaching the EU-15 average of 7.6 deaths per 100,000 live births.

International Comparisons of Bulgaria’s Health System Performance

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