Health Systems in Transition - Hungary - World Health Organization ...

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Health systems in transition Hungary
per 1000 population in 2008. Five additional counties also had fewer than 2.0
physicians per 1000 population that year (Ministry of Health, 2009c). Out of a
total of 35 169 medical posts in 2008, some 4% were unfilled, implying both
regional disparities and differences among specialties. For instance, there was
not only a shortage of public health physicians (19% of available posts vacant),
but also of physicians working in acute inpatient care (13% of available posts
vacant) (Ministry of Health, 2009c). In contrast, traditionally there have been
very few persistent vacancies in family physician and family paediatrician posts
in primary care districts. In 1999 about 99% of these posts were filled (HCSO,
1999), and unpublished data from the NHIFA indicate that this percentage was
roughly the same in 2007.
The share of jobs occupied by physicians working as private entrepreneurs
in all sectors was 43.4% in 2009 (Table 4.4), which was a substantial increase
from the 36.5% figure reported for 2005 (HCSO, 2010d).
Table 4.4
Number of physician posts according to sector and share of private entrepreneurship,
2009
Sector Total number of physician posts Share (%) of private entrepreneurship
Acute inpatient care 10 629 10.5
Outpatient care 8 856 50.2
Family doctors 6 907 84.5
Dental services 4 698 66.4
University and college education 1 438 0.3
Occupational health services 949 59.5
Rehabilitation 602 8.1
Outpatient dispensary care 376 21.3
Chronic inpatient services 368 10.3
Ambulance services 318 20.4
Public health and epidemiology 255 0.0
Transfusion services 150 12.7
Medical research 107 5.9
Other 1 504 –
Total 37 156 43.4
Source: HCSO, 2010d.
The number of nurses per 1000 population in Hungary has increased steadily,
rising from 5.3 in 2000 to 6.2 in 2008. This latter figure was slightly higher
than the EU12 average, but far below the averages for the EU15 and even EU27
(Fig. 4.6). In total, some 4% of posts for nurses and other ancillary health
professionals were unfilled in 2008 (Ministry of Health, 2009c). It is important