ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the Portuguese health system and the policy reforms which have been proposed in the 1990s. The description of the system is made in terms of the departure of the existing situation from the classical National Health Service model which, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, was widely viewed as an ideal to be attained. The Portuguese health care system has often been described as conforming to the classical National Health Service model. Given the various ambiguities of the health care system it was natural that in the 1990s, in the context of the international wave of reforms, policymakers in Portugal should seek to introduce changes to the existing structure. The chapter provides an examination of developments and policy measures which have been enacted and an assessment of their impact in terms of cost containment. In contrast to most other European countries, the location of heavy medical equipment tends to be independent from the hospitals.