The study by the Nova Information Management School (Nova IMS), from Lisbon’s Universidade Nova, said SNS funding grew 3.1 percent, while spending went up by 1.2 percent, which was less than in 2015.
The sustainability produced in the study is calculated taking into account the quality of the service from the citizens’ point of view and the indicators that are available about the technical quality of the SNS, its activity and spending.
Nova IMS researcher Pedro Simões Coelho told Lusa News Agency that the sustainability index, which was established in 2014 with a baseline of 100, has shown a significant increase for the first time.
“The SNS is more productive than it used to be and the activity expanded faster than spending; the system with the same spending manages to have a significantly higher level of quality”, he said.
The study also shows that investment in health has an impact on absenteeism, productivity, quality of life and makes an economic and social return on the investment.