Introduction
The population’s overall health and equal access to medical care are two critical components of a well-functioning health system. Protecting residents from the financial implications of ill health is also essential. In a nation, the medical care system does not exist as a separate legal entity. In addition to the political climate, the nation’s economy and technology also play a role. As well, it represents the interests and moral values of the culture in which it is produced. The healthcare sector of a developed nation and developing and underdeveloped countries are vastly different (Liu et al., 2017). Specifically, this short discourse compares and contrasts healthcare systems in Malawi, India, and Poland based on six core components.
Service Delivery
Poland, India, and Malawi have universal healthcare to guarantee that all citizens in the respective countries have access to much-needed health products and services. The countries depend on the support of external bodies to sustain the health programs, with the respective governments offer insurance cover for all individuals to ensure they have access to affordable quality health services (McIntyre et al., 2016). Notably, the success of the health department varies in various countries despite experiencing similar challenges.
On the other hand, most developed countries, such as Poland, invest more in health care and try to meet the fundamental health requirements of their populations. On the other hand, developing and underdeveloped nations struggle to provide their citizens with efficacious medical care. Poland is a country in Eastern Europe, between Ukraine and Belarus, located in the middle of Europe. The country enjoys a lot of benefits and privileges as a part of the European Union. In Eastern Europe, many take into account the country’s economy to be among the most advanced. Poland also has an effective universal health system, despite some challenges (Domagała & Klich, 2018). Thus, the country’s Narodwy Fundusz Zdrowia ensures that all citizens within the region’s boundaries have access to the much-needed quality health services and products, with over 90% of the population having insurance cover despite the laws of Polish healthcare.
Indian states are primarily responsible for administering the country’s health care system. It is a requirement of the Indian Constitution that each state must provide proper healthcare for its citizens. The Indian government launched the National Rural Health Mission in 2005 to address the lack of healthcare care in rural areas. Although the country’s vast care system, the quality of services varies from the rural and urban regions, undermining the overall health provision. Malawi depends on the primary healthcare structures to guarantee access to quality health services and products for all individuals residing within the Malawi borders (Jerving, 2018). Unfortunately, the unequal distribution of resources undermines the efforts of the understaffed healthcare department to promote quality health (Karhade & Dong, 2021). Also, the free public hospitals lack the essential medical equipment to counter acute and chronic health conditions.
Health Workforce
The availability of resources in Poland, India, and Malawi determines the quality of health products and services in the respective countries. Lack of enough resources in the nations promotes workers’ mobility with the health practitioners relocating to other countries in search of better pay and incentives (Liu et al., 2017). Consequently, the realms end up having fewer human resources to manage the increasing number of ailing population. Thus, the various governments endeavor to provide a conducive working environment and offer better pays for the health workers to reduce undesirable mobility.
The intensity of the impacts varies in different nations, with Malawi experiencing most workers’ mobility because of an imperfect employment process. For instance, Malawi’s government employs only 45% of qualified workers because of the strained resources at the government’s disposal (Domagała & Klich, 2018). Notably, although developing nations like India have job openings, the elevated corruption rate in the country contributed to the over 1.4 million unqualified practitioners with qualified personnel relocating to foreign lands to seek employment. However, Poland has the most significant number of skilled physicians to manage the ailing population despite having the lowest ratio per 1000 population in the European Union.
Health Information System
Poland, Malawi, and India take advantage of the advancing technology to better the well-being of the people living therein. The government of the three republics invests in health management information structures to collect and manage health data. The health departments partner with other key players to ensure that they communicate on alternative medications for sick persons. All health stakeholders, including the health professionals and the public, need to use high-tech communication tools to share relevant health information.
The application of the health communication systems varies in the three countries. For instance, the enhanced awareness of the system is enhanced in developed nations. HP partners with the National Center for Health Information System (CSIOZ) to facilitate collecting and sharing digital health data amongst all key stakeholders within the republic’s boundaries. In India, the National Health Mission (NHM) program, launched in 2005, enables the health stakeholders to reports the rural areas’ health needs to the entrusted parties to address them (Jerving, 2018). Finally, the health information team in Malawi acknowledges that the missing health statistics undermine the abilities of the stakeholders to share the relevant health data. Also, the under-development in India and Malawi means that they lag in the adoption and application of high-tech communication systems.
Access to Essential Medicines
Health stakeholders in all the countries advocate for universal health, which allows all stakeholders to access essential medicines and other medical services and products. The three countries acknowledge the fact that all humans have the right to access drugs. Thus, the distinct countries take advantage of the advancing technology to ensure they reach all patients within the country. Medical specialists in the various nations collaborate with their regional governments and other key players to guarantee that all people have access to quality medicinal substances. Nonetheless, Poland, India, and Malawi experience inequality when it comes to accessing indispensable substances.
Interestingly, the availability of medicine for all community members depends on the commitments of the distinct key players to their specific roles. Although all three countries provide accessible and affordable medical services and products, Poland’s population is more advantaged than India and Malawi. The rate of corruption in India and Malawi undermines the success of the various health initiatives, with the corruption rate in Malawi being higher than in India. Thus, the African country records enhanced inaccessibility to the essential medicines than India.
Financing
All the countries’ health systems receive their funds from the public. All the key players in the nations are aware of their distinct duties to fund the programs. For example, the countries advocate for insurance covers for all society members to receive the services and products affordably. Also, the governments set aside a significant amount of resources to facilitate the health programs in India, Malawi, and Poland. Financing from external bodies like the EU and the WHO ensures that the countries oversee the health operations. However, the utilization of the finances varies, with Poland’s national government funding about five percent of the country’s health expenses (McIntyre et al., 2016). The corruption in developing India and underdeveloped Malawi means undermining the utilization of the finances. Also, only 80% of the people in India can access the publicly financed health services and products, with Malawi’s expenditure considered to be below the SADC average estimated at $209.
Leadership
Health specialists partner with the respective countries’ political leaderships and other parties to oversee the success of the health initiatives. To attain the aims of despite the significant progress in healthcare institutions, effective change is crucial to guide and modify the system at all stages of care. Health care leadership is spread across the experienced and patient workforce, which creates a unique set of challenges for the sector (McIntyre et al., 2016). The leaders in the three nations advocate for free medical health to guarantee that all individuals have access to essential health services and goods. However, poor leadership in developing India and underdeveloped Malawi undermines the success of the health initiatives in those areas. The high corruption in the African country sees the leaders use the available resources inefficiently. On the other hand, India is transforming to become a leader in innovative health, competing Poland, which remains the leader, with the EU regulating the actions and the decisions made by the health specialists within the European nation’s boundaries.
References
Domagała, A., & Klich, J. (2018). Planning of Polish physician workforce–systemic inconsistencies, challenges and possible ways forward. Health Policy, 122(2), 102-108.
Jerving, S. (2018). Despite efforts to train health professionals, Malawi’s government isn’t hiring.
Karhade, P., & Dong, J. Q. (2021). Innovation outcomes of digitally enabled collaborative problemistic search capability. MIS Quarterly, 45(2).
Liu, J. X., Goryakin, Y., Maeda, A., Bruckner, T., & Scheffler, R. (2017). Global health workforce labor market projections for 2030. Human Resources for Health, 15(1), 1-12.
McIntyre, D., Kutzin, J., & World Health Organization. (2016). Health financing country diagnostic: a foundation for national strategy development (No. WHO/HIS/HGF/HFDiagnostics/16.1). World Health Organization.