Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

has a

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

system, dating back to 1960. Government-provided health care is free to Bahraini citizens and subsidized for non-Bahrainis. Healthcare expenditure accounted for 4.5% of Bahrain's GDP, according to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

. Bahraini

physicians A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...

form a majority of the country's workforce in the health sector, unlike neighbouring Gulf states.

Health insurance

The Health Insurance Law, No. 23 of 2018 came into force on 1 December 2018. It establishes the National Health Regulatory Authority which will establish a dedicated health insurance fund coordinating with the Supreme Council of Health. The Fund is to be invested and will be run by an elected Board of Directors. Insurance contributions will be collected by healthcare providers. A Health Information and Knowledge Management Centre is to be established, which will collect, analyse and process health-related data using comprehensive electronic medical records for all beneficiaries. All nationals, residents and visitors will be required to pay for mandatory health insurance. Benefits are prescribed by the law. Employers must pay contributions for insurance of their foreign employees and in some cases their dependents. Bahraini nationals can access voluntary health insurance packages through the Fund which will meet 60% of the costs of private sector hospitals or facilities. Foreign visitors are covered for emergency healthcare, although the cost of visas will increase.

History

The first

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

in Bahrain is the

American Mission Hospital The American Mission Hospital is a 120 year old private not-for-profit hospital located in Manama, Bahrain. Established in 1903, as the Mason Memorial Hospital, it was the first modern hospital in the country and, possibly, along the entire South ...

. It started in 1893 as a small dispensary but soon become a clinic. And then, with a proper building built, the

Mason Memorial Hospital The American Mission Hospital is a 120 year old private not-for-profit hospital located in Manama, Bahrain. Established in 1903, as the Mason Memorial Hospital, it was the first modern hospital in the country and, possibly, along the entire South ...

, was formally inaugurated on 26 January 1903. That was the original name until 1962, when the name formally became American Mission Hospital, as everyone was referring to it with this name The first public hospital, and also

tertiary hospital A tertiary referral hospital (also called a tertiary hospital, tertiary referral center, tertiary care center, or tertiary center) is a hospital that provides tertiary care, which is a level of health care obtained from specialists in a large hos ...

, to open in Bahrain was the

Salmaniya Medical Complex Salmaniya Medical Complex ( ar, مجمع السلمانية الطبي) is a public hospital situated in the Salmaniya district of Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Established in 1957 and having a bed capacity of approximately 1,200 beds, it is ...

, in the

Salmaniya Salmaniya is a neighborhood of Manama, Bahrain that houses the largest hospital in Bahrain, Salmaniya Medical Complex, and the Psychiatric Hospital (Bahrain). Also, other private hospitals operate within the vicinity such as the Royal Bahrain Hospi ...

district of Manama, in 1957. The

Psychiatric Hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

is the only such public hospital in the country. Private hospitals are also present throughout the country, such as the

International Hospital of Bahrain The International Hospital of Bahrain (Abbreviation: IHB; Arabic: مستشفى البحرين الدولي ) was a private hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Established in 1978 and located in Jidhafs, off the Budaiya highway, it was the second ...

. The Bahrain Defence Force – Royal Medical Services (BDF-RMS) started in 1968 as a small clinic. But, the BDF-RMS grew from a small operation into a 120 bed hospital, when in formally opened on 5 February 1979.

References

{{Asia topic, Health care in Healthcare in Bahrain

Health insurance

History

See also

References