Is that a question? For example: Infant mortality: Sweden 5th place among the 37 OECD countries. US: 33rd place. // Life expectance: Sweden 82,6 years. US: 78,6 years. Health spending: Sweden $ 5 400 per capita. US $ 10 600. // source: America's Health Ranking.
I know I feel really grateful for the healthcare system here in Sweden . There are a lot of safety nets for people in Sweden 😊🙏🏻 I have seen some comparisons of the USA to some underdeveloped nations when in comes to outcomes. There are a few things I think could be better though in Sweden but hey… no system is perfect. I know for example that the hospital I worked at in texas had amazing outcomes when it came to infection rates, fall prevention, and pressure ulcer prevention. I also felt safer with medication administration in the USA as there are many more checks and balances to keep patients safe. The costs are robbery though… 340 dollars for one bottle of long action insulin for example. Asnurses and doctors in the USA, the work environment is not good. It’s is very dangerous for us in many way. I know three nurses shot and killed inside the hospital in texas. I myself was attacked by patients and we had no system in place to protect us health care providers because “the customer is always right mentality “ that permeates businesses there. My hope in Sweden is that we can purchase some of the equipment the USA uses for medication administration för patients safety. From what I here, it’s in the works. So I see progress 👍🏻
Yea I ran into a lady who manages a 👓 glasses shop. She mentioned that since it need it more for work that possibly my employer will assist with purchasing. We actually have an eye clinic on the floor above mine. I’ll check tomorrow and see.
A tip if you need to get in touch with a doctor quickly is to go to a health center with an open reception. They usually have it early in the morning. More common in larger cities.
I have half a dozen minor ailments and I’ve given up trying to get help from doctors, I just try to relieve the pain with diet and exercise. I’ve seen ten GPs, none of which could tell me what was wrong and all of which refused to refer to me to a specialist. The only time I’ve gotten any help in the last 14 years is when I had to get urgent surgery (retinal detachment) but immediately after waking up I was told I had to get dressed and get out. Oh and that time when my leg stopped working and I paid a private neurology clinic 10K for a consultation because I was scared and it was taking months to get an appointment just to talk to somebody. I wouldn’t mind paying taxes if the system worked but as it is it feels like a complete waste of my money.
I am so sorry you have bad experiences. Have you tried repotting it? I know where I work we are really good about going above and beyond expectations trying to make sure we meet the guarantee to get patients in. But I can only speak for my department. I was told patients have a guarantee to be seen in a certain time frame. Otherwise they can report it.
Regarding glasses, if you dont have any serious vision issues. Then you just walk into the eyeglass store and talk to them. Glasses isn’t included in healthcare (that I know of) here in Sweden.
thanks for the tip. Yea that is what the lady on 1177 said to me when I called. I was not sure how it worked here... if one had to go through vårdcentral for a prescription or not. She said that one just goes it to a optiken and gets checked out. I'll do so searching and see which one is best to go to here.
@@becurious2000 And if it benefits you at your workplace talk to your boss. They will cover it. Thanks to the strong union-based workforce in Sweden. What you are comparing is capitalism and socialism. The better for few or better for many. There will always be a gray area in between where some is better than the other. Queue time is one for sure.
@@becurious2000 You should ask your workplace about "terminalglasögon" this is something that many workplaces pay for (not all), but if you want some nicer glasses you normally have to pay yourself
The main advantantage of Swedish healthcare is that is affordable. I broke my shoulder October last year and admitted to hospital: my cost, USD 25, covering everything such as x-ray and what have you. I was moved to another hospital where I spent six nights at USD 10. Eventually I was given a ride home: USD 40. Then followed a couple of rehab sessions at USD 25 per session. I was also provided with different paraphernalia to aid med get out of bed, to make having a shower easier and even to help me put my socks on - for free! The pricce "cap" for treatment , doctors, surgery and what have you per a twelve month period is a bit more than USD 100. Being 77 I am a somewhat heavy user of health care. In 2023 i´ve had a colonoscopy as well as a few other things, such as removing my last remaing kidney-stone as well as a cat-scan and being called to some routine checks -because of my age. Since i´ve reached the "cap" from now on i shan´t be paying anything for a couple months till the new twelve-month period begins. Hans Strömberg, Stockholm, Sweden.
It is a bit "strange" and kinda pointless guestion. Especially if you have some personal experience, although it is usually quite limited, like in this case. No matter what studies, stats, data ever made, the US is always pretty far below. And healthcare is so much more than "waiting" or bracelets/dental care. Living 25 years abroad, 15 in the US, 10 in EU and Nordic Countries, let me put/say this gently, I really hope, you do not get any serious long term ilness and or long term medication in the US or major surgery with long term care. Cause then you are done. And it is sad.
So true. I was so afraid to get sick or need surgery in the USA even with insurance. In regards to if it’s a strange or pointless question, I think I had mostly in mind Americans who ask me this question. I think many in the states want something better but are not given the option or know what alternatives there could be to the current ones in place. For us in Sweden it seems like a pointless question and obvious answer but for some who have known nothing else it’s probably a valid question.
this with long waiting times is propaganda, you get an appointment at your nearest health center within a few days and if it's more urgent you get help right away, there have been problems with waiting times for non-urgent operations and so on, for example hip operations, up to six months, it is of course painful for those who need that operation, and we need to work on that, but I think that many people in similar situations in the US never get the operation they need, they are forced to live with limited freedom of movement and pain for the rest of their lives because they don't can afford the surgery.
I think that’s a fair assessment. I too have noticed it seems to be specific things that patients wait a long time for. I had one of my patients in home health care wait for 8 months before getting an intervention for his foot sore. A lot of it had to do with bad communication and too many chefs in the kitchen…. Each doctor thinking another one would address the problem. Another patient had to wait 3 months for an eye specialist after she lost vision in her eye. I think probably in some cases such as my lady with the eye problem it has to do with a lack of trained personnel. We have a huge shortage of healthcare professionals here. Hopefully that changes for the better. I know many that leave to work in Denmark as the salary is better there. But yea I agree… I think the long wait times in general are embellished a bit by the media in the states.
It took over 4 months to get an MRI after an accident which gave nerve pain down to my thumb, fingers. It should have been longer but they got someone cancel and I was able to go in. At least the physiotherapist had a good guess which damage it was to give exercises. It took heading for a year to get an MRI for my ankle so the physiotherapist finally knew which exercises would be best to do. But I get the feeling that if I had not carried on working (self employed so can take longer, carry on at midnight etc), Försäkringskassan would have given the doctor too much hell for it taking so long to get me back at work.
@@becurious2000 it's how it goes. Worse for psychiatry and autism evaluations which can end up wasting years of young people's schooling waiting in the queue. I have heard about cancer patients waiting too long but have no personal experience with that.
Go to private clinic at first, then you get remitted to any hospital for free. Total cost within a year $ 150 and you can go as many times you like with as may issues you have. Medication $ 250 for as much you need within that year. You can also close your file so that anyone who wants to read it have to ask for your concent.
Dental care can be very expensive in Sweden. That's why we get braces when we're kids and dental care is free, or we don't do it at all. As you already understood, regular optometrist visits are not included in the health care. Compare the price differences at opticians because there is a huge difference between, for example, Specsavers and Synsam. Also check when they have special offers.
One thing i think is impotant to tank about is the" high cost protection " , which means that everyone 18+ there is a roof how much you pay per yer , for helthcare visits and prescription drugs .
Interesting comparison. What you may missed is that as a swedish tax payer with a social security number you get the same helthcare wherever you are in the world. If I go to america it will all be payed by the state. The benefits of our high tax system. Next week I will be in knähaken. Not the best season, but I just love to be there 🙂👍
@@insaneruben yes and no. Försäkringskassan is a state owned insurance company. So yes it is payed by an insurance, no doubt about that. Försäkringskassan is financed by tax money and everyone with a personnummer have the insurance they provide. It covers essential healthcare that cannot wait until you are back home in Sweden. It is possible to buy private healthcare insurance that covers more than that.
@@greenmachineswedenWhere can I find a source for that? The only thing I can find is about planned care where you can apply and maybe get the care granted abroad. Even in some of these cases, försäkringskassan only pays the difference between what a foreigner pays in that country and a citizen of that country. Then you as a Swede have to pay what the citizen of that country would have paid, which is huge sums if you need care in the USA. I myself have family members who needed emergency care abroad who were not even allowed to enter the hospital without their private insurance company contacting the hospital and promising to pay. I would not recommend that people travel without insurance in the belief that Sweden will pay if you need care.
Har du tänkt på att det också finns en arbetsgivaravgift som är lönebaserat och som man inte ser på lönespecifikationen. Det totalöa skattetrycket är högt men vi får också mycket tillbake.
De flesta människor accepterar hög skatt om de känner att de får mycket tillbaka för den. Jag tror det är ett av problemet i USA, att de känner att skattepengarna inte går till något de har nytta av. Vilket gör dem skeptiska till skatt.
Well, a lot of the people living within the states in the continent of America that adopts to the U.D. seems to want a more comunistic rule, but let´s wait to see if Trumpski returns to power in 2024, then we´ll know. If Putins man, Trumpski wins, we will know shortly what system works the best. But then it would be a question of: does the Swedish or the Russian system work the best in the U.S.
If you want to die move to Sweden. You have a 90 day guarantee. When you call them they need to call you back in 90 days. But you can only call on the phone between 8am to 9.30am. and IF they call you back within 90 days they give you a time with a doctor 90 days later. Often you end up with a physiotherapist that have no clue whats wrong with you. After you call them again and get a real doctor after 90 days that doctor will send you to a x-ray or something within 90 days. After 90 days you go to x-ray and then wait for the doctor to call you back within 90 days to tell you what can be the problem. And then if you are lucky they send you to the right specialist for the problem you have. That will give you another 90 days before any action will be taken. IF you are sent to the right specialist or you have to star over from step one again. Welcome to Sweden where you die before you get help.
Sounds like you have had a bad experience. I know for myself it’s been quite good. Maybe it depends what part of Sweden one lives? I know we are very strict about making sure people get treated in a timely fashion at my place of work. If it is really acute and life threatening we send them to Akuten but sometimes patients that are semi akut we are able to book a time that day or the next to see if it truly is acute and if it is we admit them directly to a room so they avoid going through Akuten…. Basically save a step. So far so good. But it might different in other places.
