Ireland has experienced the second highest drop in health spending worldwide among OECD countries in recent years, according to new statistics.

We are second only to Greece in terms of the percentage reduction in per capita health spending among 33 OECD countries, according to a new OECD report on health spending.

Our health spend per capita fell by 6.6% between 2009 and 2011, and by 11.1% in Greece, according to the OECD.

This followed a 7% increase in our per capita health spend between 2000 and 2009.

The OECD said reductions in the supply of health services and changes in their financing through increases in direct out-of-pocket payments for patients are affecting access to care.

"After years of improvement, waiting times for some operations in Portugal, Spain, England and Ireland show some increase, " the OECD report noted.

Only Israel and Japan saw the rate of health spending growth accelerate since 2009 compared with the previous decade.

"More than three-quarters of OECD countries reported a cut in real-term spending on prevention programmes in 2011 over 2010, and half spent less than in 2008. Cuts to spending on cost-effective prevention programmes on obesity, harmful use of alcohol and smoking are a cause for concern", says the report.

Any short-term benefits to budgets are likely to be greatly outweighed by the long-term impact on health and spending, the OECD has stressed.

Across the OECD, low-income groups are worst affected and may be foregoing needed care such as medicines or check-ups for chronic conditions, says the report.

This may have long-term health and economic consequences on the most vulnerable in society, it warns.

The report says the pressure to deliver healthcare more efficiently is likely to persist in Ireland in the context of tight budget constraints in the short to medium term.

It says despite health cuts, our spending on drugs and medicine remains high and this can partly be explained by our low usage of generics.

The OECD says Ireland continues to make substantive headway in improving health outcomes, 'but more can be done in reducing risk-factors for major diseases and improving value-for-money in health spending'.
 
The OECD Health at a Glance 2013 report says that Ireland's mortality due to cancer fell by 21%, ischaemic heart disease by 59% and cerebrovascular disease (including stroke) by 54% between 1990 and 2011.

In all three conditions, our rate of decline was greater than the OECD average. Life expectancy in Ireland has increased by a full four years since 2000 to reach 80.6 today, compared to the OECD average of 80.1.

However, the report notes that despite these improvements, the mortality burden from cardiovascular disease and cancer remains high and further gains can be made. 

"Investments in cost-effective prevention programmes to reduce Ireland’s high rates of smoking, obesity and alcohol consumption could lead to substantial health gains," the report says.

The report notes that the impact of the global economic meltdown on health across the OECD has been mixed - while suicide rates rose at the start of the crisis, they have stabilised since.

Deaths from traffic accidents among OECD countries has declined, most likely because the crisis has led to fewer cars on the roads so fewer accidents. Alcohol and tobacco consumption has fallen in many countries too, the report states.

For the first time, average life expectancy exceeded 80 years across OECD countries in 2011, an increase of ten years since 1970, the report noted.