Question

When the economy is good, health care needs decline since individuals are covered and maintain primary health services. When the economy is poor, health care needs increase since individuals may not have health care coverage.

Discuss how this impacts health systems and the balance in care and finances

Answer 1

Impact of economy on health system, balance in care and finance:

Economy is the system of production, distribution and consumption of resources and also refers to the overall measure of a currency system in a nation. A Nation's economy can largely influence the health system of a nation. When economy is good , most of the people in the nation, may covered under insurance coverage and their health seeking behaviour also may be good. They may not delay to go to hospital or to primary health services.  

In poor economic conditions , most of the people may come outside of the coverage and they may become hesitant to go to hospitals or primary care centers to avoid large medical bills.  

Neglecting the early or warning signs of infections or diseases due to financial constraints may lead to the chronic diseases and complications of diseases, that inturn leads to increased hospitalization and mortality and morbidity rates. Poor public health also results in increased absenteeism in the companies and the industries , it may lead to slow economic growth of the country.

Poor economic condition of a country, may make the Government to limit it budget for Heath care delivery system. It may lead to less healthcare facilities and health care services for the public. It also affects the quality of food , supply of safe water and environmental sanitation. These elements are important for the people's health. Poor performance in prevention of communicable diseases may affect tourism of a country , that may be an important source of income   for certain countries . Countries' GDP ( Gross domestic product) may get affected by the presence of chronic or communicable diseases. Economy and health system of a country influence each ther and affect the country's overall growth and public health.