As people live and enjoy the generally increased living standards and life expectancies throughout the world in the modern world, some are becoming very aware of the myriad health care choices available to them from other parts of the globe away from their own land. While healthcare was generally a local service to choose from, more and more are willing to travel abroad, far from their homes, to obtain the best possible solutions and treatments for their needs. The drivers for this phenomenon are largely driven by choice that values the right treatments, prices, and service. While many still limit their choices for healthcare to their vicinity, some savvy patients who are open to travel are looking elsewhere to find the best.
Health inequalities affect us on a daily basis, with or without our knowledge. In the era of information, not everyone has the tools or training to access the available data about the best healthcare choices and even if they do, the patient’s choice should be made with the help of a healthcare professional. In an ideal world, everyone would have access to the same healthcare resources, regardless of country or social or economical status. But healthcare inequalities are present both around the world and within countries and they represent systematic differences in the health status or in the distribution of health resources between different population groups, arising from the social conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These inequities disadvantage people, as they are unable to live longer and healthier lives and therefore having significant social and economic costs both to individuals and societies.
As the presence of healthcare inequalities means that the people’s right to pursue the highest attainable standard of both physical and mental health is not equally distributed, it is up to government policies to reduce this gap in opportunities, as it all relates to unequal allocation of power and resources. Policymakers around the world and especially in developing countries must formulate better policies for promoting and protecting equitable health and development. To reduce disparities between the rich and poor, efforts should focus on promoting equitable access to health and to the benefits of social development.
As mentioned before, differences in health outcomes due to healthcare inequality are present both within and between societies. For example, health inequalities directly impact life expectancy, which can vary by 34 years between countries around the world. Therefore, in low-income countries, the average life expectancy is 62 years, while in high-income countries, it is 81 years. A child born in the Central African Republic can expect to live for 54 years, a child born in Pakistan can expect to live 67 years, while life expectancy in Russia is around 73 years. Maternal mortality is another health indicator that shows the wide gaps between rich and poor, both between and within countries. Developing countries account for 99% of annual maternal deaths in the world. For instance, a woman in Chad has a lifetime risk of maternal death of 1 in 16, while a woman in Sweden has a risk of less than 1 in 10 000.
While it might be easier to spot those between different countries based on economical development, different populations within the same society might have different access to healthcare resources based on protected characteristics, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities or socio-economic status, including working status, income, geography of residence and wealth possession.