A Comparison of the Danish and the South Korean Health Care System.

Abstract

The Danish people have always been very proud of the Danish health system. Even in the early years of the Danish history the country was known for its long living people. The Danish health system is very well structured and it is based on the idea of giving every citizen the opportunity of free health care. About 15.5% of the economic support of the Danish health system is paid by the citizens through general taxes - therefore the Danish taxes are quite high compared to other European countries but the Danish citizens are then able to have medical treatment, operations and medicine for free at any time. In Denmark, we divide our health care system into two groups, the primary health care system and the secondary health care system. The primary system include the general practitioner, the pharmacies, the dentists, the nursing homes for elderly people or disable, and the home based care of elderly people or newborns. The secondary system is the hospitals, as well as the specialized clinics. To use the secondary system, you would need a referral slip from the general practitioner, but there are some specialties that you are allowed to use without the referral slip - for example the otho-rhino-laryngologie. You can also go to the hospital in case of emergency or childbirth without the slip. In the primary system you are connected to one doctor (one general practitioner), who works at a private clinic. The government pays the doctor and the clinic an arranged amount of money for each consultation they proceed. The only thing you have to pay for yourself are the dentists. In the secondary system you can choose freely among the hospitals in Denmark. Most of the hospitals in Denmark are public so you don’ t need to pay for the treatment, the admission or even the surgeries if needed. There are private hospitals as well in Denmark, but they are not used that often for illness. Typically only if the waiting list is too long for an operation or the patient wants a special treatment. Most of the patients at the private hospitals are there for cosmetic reasons, why plastic surgeries are big here. The primary system handles the smaller and more common illnesses, where the secondary system is for longer and more serious illnesses. In many