Analysis of factors affecting health care costs using statistical tools

Our health system needs to be overhauled. The how and how of it raises questions. The rising costs of health care in recent decades have been driven by a number of factors. There is a link between the number of doctors, the number of doctors on staff, the number of hospital beds, the number of cases, the level of private medical care and public health care, and household health expenditure. The number of doctors’ posts clearly shows a positive correlation with several types of health expenditure, be it short stays or longer hospital stays. Reducing the number of hospital beds may be one of the goals of more efficient care, but it may also imply cost reductions. For policy makers and political actors, the message of this article could be a recommendation that overburdening doctors is definitely a short-term solution. Other solutions should be found to reduce the expenditure side of the system, e.g. by improving efficiency, improving the system of interest.