American Medical Student Association

International Health Care Systems

What can we learn about universal healthcare from other countries?
With the exception of the United States, every industrialized country in the world has found a way to deliver universal healthcare for its citizens. There are a variety of ways in which these countries have achieved universal healthcare, each of which reflects that country's unique set of political and cultural beliefs. By studying the health care systems of different countries, AMSA believes that healthcare reformers can glean useful information and lessons that will one day help create a system of affordable healthcare for all in America.

• AMSA's International Healthcare Systems Primer
  Overview of the health care systems of Sweden, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, France, Germany & Japan. Primer Outline
  
  
• SeaCouver Study Tour
  AMSA's medical student study tours of other countries.

Links and resources on international health care systems

1. The European Observatory website of the World Health Organization has extensive country-by-country profiles of each European country's health care system.
2. Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) has compiled a website containing brief overviews of different health care systems around the world.
3. The WHO's famous 2000 rankings of international health care systems
4. For an excellent, highly readable textbook on international health care systems, consult Bruce Fried and Laura Gaydos' World Health Systems: Challenges and Perspectives.