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Ageing and availability of health services in Czechia

Publication at Faculty of Science |
2019

Abstract

The issue of the availability of health services is highly actual topic which is discussed not only by the state apparatuses but also by the public. The age structure of the population and also of the providers of health services is significant factors influencing the availability of these services.

The aim of the paper is to find out where is currently a threat of greatest potential problems with ensuring of availability of the selected segment of health services in the particular regions of Czechia with regard to the age structure of the population and providers of health services / physicians. This selected segment of health services is general practise (GP).

The data for the analysed year 2015 were obtained from the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) and the General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic (VZP CR) which has contracts with almost all providers of these services in the area of primary health care, where general practise belongs to. The main prerequisite for this work is that areas with a higher proportion of elderly people and areas with a higher proportion of older physicians can be confronted with potentially considerable difficulties in ensuring of appropriate health care.

For this purpose, a typology of so-called gradient regions was created, from which potentially problematic areas can be defined. In conclusion, there were found significant regional differences in the age structure of the population and physicians.

Moreover, several regions face significant problems with availability of health services.