OCTOBER 2018.
The “Health a Priority” survey carried out under the “3F – Financing, Formula for the Future” project, promoted by the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH), concluded that Portuguese patients have a higher regard, in many aspects, for private hospitals than for public hospitals. The study was developed for APAH by GFK, a market research company.
On a scale of zero to ten, public hospitals score 5.7, while private hospitals have an overall satisfaction score of 7.5.
The respondents evaluated more positively in private hospitals:
- The waiting time to schedule consultations and / or exams (negative 4.2 score for public hospitals, while private providers score 7.8);
- The quality of the facilities and the equipment (on a scale of zero to ten, 6 for the public and 7.6 for the private sector);
- The waiting time regarding consultations and/or exams admission (only 4.4 for the public and 7.6 for the private);
- Access to more recent and innovative treatments (5.8 for the public and 7.5 for the private);
- Competence and knowledge of health professionals (Portuguese patients gave a 6.8 score to the public sector and 7.6 to the private sector)
The survey also shows that 3 out of 4 Portuguese patients consider that Health is not a priority for the Government and that 7 out of 10 consider that the investment in health is insufficient.
This report lead to ten recommendations to innovate the Portuguese Financing and Healthcare model, in order to truly place the citizen at the centre of the system.
