Number of Physicians per Capita in Cuba

[VetLegion]

It is a well known factoid that Cuba has the highest per capita number of physicians in the world (San Marino is a small country):

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_phy_per_1000_peo-physicians-per-1-000-people

I wonder what caused this.

Are Cubans born with a scalpel?
Did Castro had some strange fixation with medicine?
Did Cubans lower the knowledge standards required of doctors in other countries so that medical diploma is one of the easier to get there?

What gives?

Also comment on relative merits of Cuban vs American healthcare system if you wish.

[Krill]

Q: How many of those physicians gained their qualifications overseas, and how how many Cuban physicians practice overseas (legally...)

[Barnabas]

Re: Number of Physicians per Capita in Cuba

Originally posted by VetLegion
It is a well known factoid that Cuba has the highest per capita number of physicians in the world (San Marino is a small country):

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_phy_per_1000_peo-physicians-per-1-000-people

I wonder what caused this.

Are Cubans born with a scalpel?
Did Castro had some strange fixation with medicine?
Did Cubans lower the knowledge standards required of doctors in other countries so that medical diploma is one of the easier to get there?

What gives?

Also comment on relative merits of Cuban vs American healthcare system if you wish.

Cuban medicine is excellent.

The answer is Castro is obsessed with medicine and education.
It is about showing the achievements of the revolutio to the outside capitalistic world.
I even recall reading that one of Castro´s dreams was some Cuban scientist discovering the cure of Aids, which would make Cuba and Castro like "heroes" nobel prize winners etc

It isnt that different from the obsession euro communist countries used to have with having great results at the olympics.

[VetLegion]

I doubt it that Cuban medicine is excellent. Modern medicine is very expensive and Cuba can't afford to fully specialize all those doctors and equip them with the latest technology.

Thanks for the info about Castro's obsession, I didn't know that.

[Whoha]

Once they can get "generics" costs come down quite a bit in all likelyhood. Google says that they only have two Magnet Brain ray scanners though.

[Krill]

Only 2 MRI machines? You sure? That does seem a little low...

[LotC]

Originally posted by VetLegion
I doubt it that Cuban medicine is excellent. Modern medicine is very expensive and Cuba can't afford to fully specialize all those doctors and equip them with the latest technology.

Thanks for the info about Castro's obsession, I didn't know that.

Life expectancies from the CIA World Factbook via Wikipedia:

Rank Country Overall Male Female

29 United States 78 75.15 80.97
38 Cuba 77.08 74.85 79.43

Cuba stresses something called "preventative medicine", which does not cost a whole lot of money nor require the latest technology. With things like universal free health care, proper and universal nutrition for children, and a lifestyle that is not driven by laziness and overconsumption, they tend to live long and healthy lives.

As for the "obsession" with health and education, I'd say it's a lot better than an obsession with throwing over 1% of its citizens in jail and putting an unfair economic burden on the people that are not in the position to bear it, which seem to be the obsessions of most US politicians.

[Whoha]

Originally posted by Krill
Only 2 MRI machines? You sure? That does seem a little low...

Google has spoken.

[Theben]

Expensive=! good health care.

All it means is that 5 doctors walked into your room, looked over your medical info, and signed their name on the clipboard.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Originally posted by LotC


Life expectancies from the CIA World Factbook via Wikipedia:

Rank Country Overall Male Female

29 United States 78 75.15 80.97
38 Cuba 77.08 74.85 79.43

Cuba stresses something called "preventative medicine", which does not cost a whole lot of money nor require the latest technology. With things like universal free health care, proper and universal nutrition for children, and a lifestyle that is not driven by laziness and overconsumption, they tend to live long and healthy lives.

As for the "obsession" with health and education, I'd say it's a lot better than an obsession with throwing over 1% of its citizens in jail and putting an unfair economic burden on the people that are not in the position to bear it, which seem to be the obsessions of most US politicians.

For the record, not that there is anything to be proud about, US rate of imprisonment at 790/100000, not quite 1%. Cuba is very close behind if not higher with numbers wildly varying from 490 to 900 depending on the source. regardless I wouldn't cling to the notion that Cuba is a paragon of virtue with respect to imprisoning its own citizens and simlarly burdening the populace with a 3rd world nation economy.

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by LotC

As for the "obsession" with health and education, I'd say it's a lot better than an obsession with throwing over 1% of its citizens in jail and putting an unfair economic burden on the people that are not in the position to bear it, which seem to be the obsessions of most US politicians.

I totally agree. We should immediately hang every murderer and rapist without all the legal quibbling, therby saving ourselves a great deal of money.

[VetLegion]

Originally posted by LotC


Life expectancies from the CIA World Factbook via Wikipedia:

Rank Country Overall Male Female

29 United States 78 75.15 80.97
38 Cuba 77.08 74.85 79.43

Cuba stresses something called "preventative medicine", which does not cost a whole lot of money nor require the latest technology. With things like universal free health care, proper and universal nutrition for children, and a lifestyle that is not driven by laziness and overconsumption, they tend to live long and healthy lives.

This exactly the sort of post the perpetuates these myths about excellent Cuban medicine.

If you take a look at the statistics, there doesn't seem to be a correlation between number of doctors and life expectancy.

Albania, for example, has only 1.31 physician per 1,000 people and has similar life expectancy to Cuba. Albania is a barely functional country BTW.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_lif_exp_at_bir_tot_pop-life-expectancy-birth-total-population

#49 Albania: 77.6 years
#50 Taiwan: 77.56 years
#51 Anguilla: 77.46 years
#52 Kuwait: 77.36 years
#53 Korea, South: 77.23 years
#54 Costa Rica: 77.21 years
#55 Cuba: 77.08 years
#56 Chile: 76.96 years
#57 Libya: 76.88 years
#58 British Virgin Islands: 76.86 years
#59 Ecuador: 76.62 years
#60 Slovenia: 76.53 years

[VetLegion]

Originally posted by Theben
Expensive=! good health care.

All it means is that 5 doctors walked into your room, looked over your medical info, and signed their name on the clipboard.

Expensive healthcare doesn't have to be good, but good healthcare has to be expensive.

[Krill]

LOng Life =| Good quality of life

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by VetLegion


Expensive health care doesn't have to be good, but good health care has to be expensive.

Europe's health care is far better than American health care, and ours is, on average, three times more expensive.