Healthcare in Romania

tatus of public health

Health care is more generally poor by European standards, and access is limited in many rural areas. In 2001 health expenditures were equal to 6.5 percent of gross domestic product. In 2005 there were 1.9 physicians and 7.4 hospital beds per 1,000 people. The state-owned health care system was a target of the campaign to decentralize state services that President Basescu began in 2006. The system has been funded by the National Health Care Insurance Fund, to which employers and employees make mandatory contributions. Private health insurance has developed slowly. Because of low public funding, about 36 percent of the population’s health care spending is out-of-pocket. Bribes frequently are paid to gain improved treatment. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Romania.pdf Romania country profile] . Library of Congress Federal Research Division (May 2006). "This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain."]

The most common causes of death are cardiovascular disease and cancer. Communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, syphilis, and viral hepatitis are more common than elsewhere in Europe. The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has been less than 0.1 percent. However, high rates of venereal disease, lack of education about HIV prevention, and increasing intravenous drug use are factors that could increase the rate substantially in the future. The number of pediatric AIDS cases is one of the highest in Europe because of unsafe blood transfusion and inoculation procedures for young children in hospitals and clinics in the last years of the communist era. In 2006 an estimated 7,200 Romanians below age 20 had been infected in this way.

Romanian health system history

Romanian hospitals

Colţea Hospital was built by Mihai Cantacuzino between 1701 and 1703, composed of many buildings, each with 12 to 30 beds, a church, three chapels, a school, and doctors' and teachers' houses.

Pantelimon Hospital was raised in 1733 by Grigore II Ghica. The surface area of the Pantelimon Hospital land property was 4,000,000 m². The hospital had in its inventory a house for infectious diseases and a house for persons with disabilities.

Filantropia Hospital had a capacity of 70 beds and was built in 1806-1812, during the Russian occupation.

From 1830 onwards, the health system in Romania was centralized. The name of the organisation was Civil Hospitals Eforia.

By tradition, the access of the poor or the disavantaged to the Romanian healthcare system was free. (There are many documented examples regarding this, such as Alexandu Ipsilanti's order of 20 November 1820 or Thornton's travel book from 1812, or some official documents of the Romanian government dating to 1811.)

In 1830 the Brâncoveanu Hospital was inaugurated.

Romanian doctors

The Romanian healthcare system has been in existence since 1700. At that time, the doctors were primarily from France, Italy or Austria (in Transylvania). The first Romanian doctors graduated with degrees in medicine from universities in Vienna and Paris at the beginning of the 19th century (such as Ştefan Manega or Ioan Serafim).

The Romanian healthcare system has many an unsung hero. In Bucharest 1928; 21 doctors, of a total of 26 in the city at the time, died of plague whilst administering treatment for the disease.

Vaccination

Smallpox vaccination was used since 1800. Iacob Polaryno (Constantin Brâncoveanu's doctor) published a theory for smallpox prevention in 1715 in Venice.

Considering the small number of personnel in the healthcare system in 1815 and the danger of epidemics, a way to work around the problem was found. The vaccination procedure was taught in theology schools, so smallpox was not prevented using Orthodox priests.

Medical universities and faculties

*Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timişoara
* Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Bucureşti
*Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iaşi
*Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Cluj-Napoca
*University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova
*University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Târgu Mureş
*Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Ovidius University of Constanţa
*Victor Papilian Faculty of Medicine of the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
*Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of University of Oradea
*Faculty of Medicine of Transilvania University of Braşov
*Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Lower Danube University of Galati
*Faculty of Medicine of the Vasile Goldiş Western University of Arad (a private university)

Medical organizations

* [http://www.medica.ro/ Romanian Medical Association]
* [http://www.cardioportal.ro/ Romanian Society Of Cardiology]
* [http://www.srm.ro/ro/ Romanian Society Of Microbiology]
* [http://www.srp.ro/ Romanian Society Of Pneumology]
* [http://www.srd.ro/ Romanian Society Of Dermatology]
* [http://www.medfam.ro/ Romanian Society Of Family Medicine]
* [http://www.medicinainterna.ro/ Romanian Society Of Internal Medicine]
* [http://www.srati.ro/ Romanian Society Of Anesthesia & Intensive Care]
* [http://www.rsn.ro/ Romanian Society Of Neurosurgery]
* [http://www.acpr.go.ro/ Romanian Society Of Plastic Surgeons]
* [http://www.sre.ro/ Romanian Endocrine Society]
* [http://www2.cmb.ro/romjlegmed/society.html Romanian Legal Medicine Society]
* [http://www.rpnes.ro/ Romanian Psychoneuroendocrine Society]
* [http://www.arce.ro/ Romanian Association For Endoscopic Surgery]
* [http://www.sru.ro/sru.htm Romanian Association Of Urology]
* [http://www.cantacuzino.ro/ro/ “Cantacuzino” National Institute Of Research And Development For Microbiology And Immunology]
* [http://www.dental.ro/ Romanian Dental Association of Private Practitioners]
* [http://www.snn.ro/ National Neurosciences Society Of Romania]
* [http://www.romtransplant.ro/ “Romtransplant” Professional Association Of Romanian Transplantologists]

Telemedicine

Romanian National Partnership in Telemedicine

Romanian Partners for the Pilot are:

* “Sfântul Ioan” Hospital Bucharest;
* University Hospital Bucharest;
* Military Hospital Bucharest;
* Floreasca Emergency Hospital;
* “V. Babeş” Hospital Bucharest;
* "Sfânta Maria” Hospital Bucharest.
* “Sfântul Spiridon” Hospital Iaşi;
* Craiova District Hospital;
* Timişoara District Hospital;
* Târgu Mureş District Hospital;

Modern health care systems have improved in Romania since the fall of the Ceauşescu regime in 1989.

References

=External links=
* [http://www.eldis.org/ds/docdisplay.cfm?doc=DOC11432&resource=healthsystems Romania: health profile] from the DFID Health Resource Centre.
* [http://www.euro.who.int/document/e72475.pdf Healthcare Systems in Transition: A Profile on Romania] from the World Health Organization