| Abstract [eng] |
Evaluation of Lithuanian Health Care System Financing and Usage of Resources. This thesis focuses on the financing of health care system and the usage of its resources in Lithuania. The scientific problem of this topic is that the financing of Lithuanian health care system is often reviewed concisely in various reports but is lacking an analysis and an overview in greater depth. The efficiency of health care resources is widely analysed in academic studies of foreign authors but there are very few studies about Lithuanian health care system. Therefore, the aim of the Thesis is to analyse the financing and the efficiency of Lithuanian health care system. The theoretical analysis encompasses the healthcare market analysis noting that health care characterize as intangible, heterogeneous and temporary service where the patient is participating in the service delivery process and the asymmetry of information occurs. Lithuanian health care system has characteristics of both Bismark and Beveridge models and has strong state control, competition among service providers, there is a separate independent fund of health care premiums in Lithuania. The analysis of financial data disclosed the inadequacy between health care premiums paid by workers and those paid by the government for the socially supported groups (as children, students, soldiers, etc.). Workers pays on average 3,2 times more than the government pays for the state insured person. Health care expenditures in Lithuania is one of the lowest in the European Union both as a percentage of the GDP index both in the amount of health care expenditure per person in PPP. However, despite low financing, Lithuania possess one of the greatest amounts of human resources in EU, considering the population. Therefore, the usage of all these resources is a key aspect in the efficiency of health care system. In order to evaluate the efficiency of Lithuanian health care system data development analysis has been carried out. The results of the analysis showed that 10 out of 27 EU countries such as Poland, Estonia, Latvia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Romania, and Luxembourg are efficient, while Lithuania is in the 14th place with efficiency score 0,90. The least efficient in health care countries are Austria with only 0,62 efficiency score, as well as Germany, Bulgaria and Malta. The DEA analysis among the regions of Lithuania was conducted as well. The results again showed that the decision making units that possess the greatest amounts of resources are the least efficient. Therefore, Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda districts are the least efficient while Telšiai, Utena, Marijampolė and Tauragė districts are fully efficient. The results of the analysis are meaningful but controversial as well. The Thesis could be enriched with the further analysis by choosing different variables, dividing regions into a few groups according to the living standards or by applying various models of efficiency evaluation. |
