STUDY ON THE PLACE OF ROMANIA IN THE HEALTH SYSTEM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

This study aims to present the concept of public health and the place of Romania in the health system of the European Union. The concept of public health grew rapidly throughout the European Union from a strict approach to health conditions in a comprehensive approach to the health of the population, living standards and a more healthy life, even amid economic crisis that affected the whole of Europe. Policy makers have made considerable efforts to ensure access to high quality medical assistance facing challenges rarely encountered in other parts of the world, such as aging population, the use of more effective drugs and some more advanced technology. In order to position Romania in the EU context, we used a comparative analysis, using a number of indicators, such as total health expenditures in GDP and per capita, and life expectancy at birth, number of hospital beds and number of doctors100, 000.The result in most indicators showed that Romania is in an inferior position, except the indicator number of hospital beds. However, in this case we must take into account that we had data published by the World Bank in 2010, and the following year they abolished a total of 67public sector hospitals. These conclusions are all the more disappointing, because throughout Europe during the crisis was drastically reduced the budget spending on health, which affected both the public and private health. In this regard wages were reduced, they stopped hiring in the public sector, and healthcare staff migrated in search of higher incomes and better working conditions. Successful experiences of the EU members countries have shown that some types of social policy and investment strategy in education in general and education for prevention and sanitary behavior in particular, lead to a long term positive impact on population health