Performance of the Belgian health system: update of several indicators

Performance

The last analysis report on the performance of our health system was published in 2019. The 121 indicators contained in this report are also summarised on the Towards a Healthy Belgium website.

Since this publication, a number of indicators have been updated:

• A new indicator on geographical access of maternity services (A-16) was added in October 2020;
• The indicator on the number of patients per nurse (A-8) was updated in October 2020;
• Indicator A-4 on medical care requirements not met for financial reasons (% of individuals included in the survey – self-declared indicator) was updated in December 2020;
• Indicator A-9 on waiting time for an appointment with a specialist (% of the population who have to wait more than two weeks) was updated in December 2020;
• Indicators QP-1 to QP-4 on the doctor-patient relationship were updated in December 2020 (QP-1 = the doctor spends enough time with the patient during the consultation (% of respondents); QP-2 = the doctor provides explanations that are easy to understand (% of respondents); QP-3 = the doctor gives the patient the opportunity to ask questions and express concerns (% of respondents); QP-4 = the doctor involves the patients in decisions concerning care and/or treatments (% of respondents).