The healthcare system of the Czech Republic at the time the country was made part of the Eastern Bloc was characterized by scarcity of funds as a result of its poorly functioning economy combined with difficult access to up-to-date medical information because of restricted communication with Western democracies. These were the main causes for Czech medicine lagging behind that of industrialized nations. The political changes occurring in 1989 were soon followed by economic and societal changes that led to, among other things, badly needed healthcare reform, gradually involving all areas of medicine. This resulted in extending, over the period from 1989 to 2004, life expectancy at birth (from 71.8 to 75.8 years); this figure is still below the average of the 15 Western European nations that were European Union members prior to 1 May 2004 (79.4 years in 2004). The availability of all methods of renal replacement therapy also increased, particularly peritoneal dialysis, which was virtually unavailable prior to 1990.

Department of Medicine 1 Charles University Medical School Pilsen Czech Republic