Healthcare in Iceland

Healthcare in Iceland is universal. The healthcare system is largely paid for by taxes (85%) and to some extent by service fees (15%) and is administrated by the Ministry of Welfare. A considerable portion of government spending is assigned to healthcare. There is almost no private health insurance in Iceland and no private hospitals.[1]

Healthcare providers in Iceland fall into one of the following legally defined categories of healthcare providers:

Medical training

Iceland does not have its own specialist medical training system, so Icelandic doctors typically spend 8 or 10 years working abroad before returning to the country. They often use the relationship established in training for ongoing support.[2]

Life expectancy

Iceland had the highest life expectancy of any European country, 83.0 years in 2012 according to the OECD.[3]

Healthcare districts

The regions of Iceland. 5 and 6 correspond to the Northern District

The country is divided into 7 healthcare districts which correspond to the 8 regions of Iceland with the exception of the Northwestern Region and the Northeastern Region which are a single healthcare district.

List of hospitals

There are two hospitals in Iceland, both of which are general and specialised.

Name (English) Name (Icelandic) Founded Type Healthcare district Municipality
National University Hospital of Iceland Landspítali - háskólasjúkrahús 3 March 2000 General and specialised
university hospital
Capital Region Reykjavíkurborg
Akureyri Hospital Sjúkrahúsið á Akureyri General and specialised
teaching hospital
Northern Akureyrarkaupstaður

List of health institutions

Name (English) Name (Icelandic) Founded Healthcare district Municipality
Healthcare Institution of Blönduós Heilbrigðisstofnunin Blönduósi Northern Blönduósbær
Healthcare Institution of Eastern Iceland Heilbrigðisstofnun Austurlands Eastern Region Fljótsdalshérað
Healthcare Institution of Fjallabyggð Heilbrigðisstofnunin Fjallabyggð Northern Fjallabyggð
Healthcare Institution of Patreksfjörður Heilbrigðisstofnunin Patreksfirði Westfjords Vesturbyggð
Healthcare Institution of Sauðárkrókur Heilbrigðisstofnunin Sauðárkróki Northern Sveitarfélagið Skagafjörður
Healthcare Institution of South Iceland Heilbrigðisstofnun Suðurlands 1 September 2004 Southern Region Sveitarfélagið Árborg
Healthcare Institution of Southeast Iceland Heilbrigðisstofnun Suðausturlands Southern Region Sveitarfélagið Hornafjörður
Healthcare Institution of Southern Peninsula Heilbrigðisstofnun Suðurnesja Southern Peninsula Reykjanesbær
Healthcare Institution of the Westfjords Heilbrigðisstofnun Vestfjarða Westfjords Ísafjarðarbær
Healthcare Institution of Vestmannaeyjar Heilbrigðisstofnunin Vestmannaeyjum Southern Region Vestmannaeyjabær
Healthcare Institution of Western Iceland Heilbrigðisstofnun Vesturlands 1 January 2010 Western Region Akraneskaupstaður
Healthcare Institution of Þingeyjarsýslur Heilbrigðisstofnun Þingeyinga Northern Healthcare District Norðurþing

References

  1. http://archsurg.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/141/2/199#SEC8
  2. "Outcomes in EHCI 2015" (PDF). Health Consumer Powerhouse. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  3. "Health at a Glance: Europe". OECD. Retrieved 3 July 2015.

External links

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