sexta-feira, 29 de agosto de 2008

Investir em Saúde

Faz bem à Economia.

“defende-se a ideia de que todo o capital, público ou privado, dispendido na compra de serviços de saúde contribui para alguma forma de crescimento económico” PKM, DE 21.08.08
Esta ideia não é nova. Sobre esta matéria recomenda-se a leitura “The contribution of health to the economy in the European Union”, um trabalho de Marc Suhrcke, Martin McKee, Regina Sauto Arce, Svetla Tsolova e Jørgen Mortensen (Ago 2005). link

«In contrast, the potential contribution of health to the economy has received rather less attention in high-income countries, where health has not made its way into national economic development strategies and plans. In most of these countries, the thrust of contemporary discussions on health reform typically sees interventions that promote health and the delivery of healthcare as costs that need to be contained. In most countries, health is among the weakest of ministries and there are only a few examples of finance ministries having engaged in discussions with health ministries about how the latter could contribute to national economic outcomes through activities that improve health, rather than exhorting them to cut costs. »
«There is a sound theoretical and empirical basis to the argument that human capital contributes to economic growth. Since human capital matters for economic outcomes and since health is an important component of human capital, health matters for economic outcomes. At the same time, economic outcomes also matter for health. A recurring theme throughout this book is the existence of feedback loops offering the scope for mutually reinforcing improvements in health and wealth. »
«From a European perspective, this question links closely with the debate on the European Union’s Lisbon agenda. This discourse increasingly accepts that greater investment in human capital constitutes a necessary, albeit not sufficient, condition for making the European economy more competitive in the wider world. If this is to be achieved, it will be necessary to increase our understanding of the benefits to be derived from investments in human capital, including those in population health.»

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