A Comparison of the United States and Austrian Healthcare Needs and Systems

Abstract

Austria and the United States have very different healthcare systems with Austria following a social insurance model and the United States following an out of pocket model however;gross domestic product on healthcare expenditures. There is a current gap in literature on how the United States and Austrian healthcare systems comparatively impact patient outcomes, especially when considering the mediating effects of societal norms such as exercise and mental self-care habits. The information presented could benefit the United States healthcare system if they adopted Austria’s model, which expands access, and the Austrian healthcare system regulators could look to American standards of communication and care coordination to improve their healthcare system overall.