Euro Health Consumer Index

Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) was a comparison of European health care systems based on waiting times, results, and generosity. The information is presented as a graphic index. EHCI was produced 2005–2009 and 2012–2018 by Health Consumer Powerhouse. The 2014 ranking included 37 countries measured by 48 indicators. It claimed to measure the "consumer friendliness" of healthcare systems. It did not claim to measure which European state had the best healthcare system, but it did produce specialist Indexes on Diabetes, Cardiac Care, HIV, Headache and Hepatitis.[1]

In 2006, France was the champion with 768 points out of 1000. In the 2015 results, the same performance would have given the 13th position among 35 countries because of the widespread improvements in standards.[2]

While no bias in favour of any health system was alleged, the index was criticised in the British Medical Journal by Martin McKee and others from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies in February 2016. Points they made included:[3]

  • The index is constructed by scoring performance as good, intermediary or not-so-good, based on arbitrary cut-off points.
  • There is no logic in how many points are allocated to each indicator. 225 points are allocated to accessibility, but only 250 to health outcomes.
  • The indicators are a mix of trends over time and cross-sectional rankings.

A survey by the Centre for Population Change in 2019 produced results consistent with the index.[4]

  1. ^ "Outcomes in EHCI 2015" (PDF). Health Consumer Powerhouse. 26 January 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  2. ^ "EHCI: European healthcare steadily improving". News Medical.net. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  3. ^ Cylus, Jonathan; Nolte, Ellen; Figueras, Josep; McKee, Martin (9 February 2016). "What, if anything, does the EuroHealth Consumer Index actually tell us?". BMJ. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  4. ^ Worstall, Tim (22 March 2019). "NHS Not Much Cop Say Those Who've Tried Other Health Care Systems". Continental Telegraph. Retrieved 25 March 2019.