Best hospitals in Barcelona

Before considering the advantages of medical tourism in Barcelona and choosing a hospital, one should form a more complete picture of the system, the medical services in general, and the unique features of the Spanish health care system (in particular, Barcelona’s health care system).

According to the annual ranking of the best health care systems by WHO, Spain maintains a stable leading position, ahead of such countries as Great Britain, Israel, Japan, and the United States. Currently, on average it places seventh on a global scale. Barcelona is considered one of the best medical rehabilitation locations in the country. Below, one can find several key factors that describe the current context for health care in Spain.

• Quality.The quality of medical services is obviously a decisive factor for evaluation.The high level of expertise of medical doctors and personnel in the best hospitals in Barcelona is ensured by their exceptional level of medical education, strict procedures for licensing, and the degree of responsibility taken when an error is committed.
• Optimal balance of private and public hospitals. An important factor thatstands out in Barcelona is that the quality of service is practically the same in both types of medical establishments. It is unusual to witness a gap between the public and private medical centers in terms of the quality of services rendered there. There are only two differences between these two types of health care providers: the waiting period preceding an appointment with a doctor (in public clinics one waits longer, especially when it comes to surgeries) and the possibility ofchoosing a hospital and doctor individually (in public hospitals, there is less choose; the deciding factor is the place of registration). Additionally, private hospitals in Barcelona actively provide services to the public sector and receive generous funding in return.
• State financing of healthcare, innovation, and development in this field. Even though the economic crisis has significantly reduced the number of governmental grants to the Spanish hospitals, it has not caused the quality of medicine in general to deteriorate. Barcelona and Madrid are still leaders in the use of progressive technologies in the field of medicine. At present, they pay special attention to minimally invasive techniques that can considerably reduce a patient’s rehabilitation period. It is worth mentioning that thepharmaceutical companies arefunded by the governmental authorities. Moreover, medications with a doctor’s written prescription are sold with a discount of 40%, and retired people receive necessary medication for free.
• Affordability of medical services. Despite the high quality, the prices for private medical services in Spain are rather democratic. The registration procedure in the medical services system is relatively simple, even for immigrants. Illegal immigrants are also entitled to emergency aid services. All of the aforementioned factors contribute to averagelife expectancy indexes that reach among the highest in the world. (As of 2016, the average life expectancy was more than 82 years old.)
• It may be helpful to note that due to the high level and development of medical tourism and the constant flow of patients from all over the world, there is no division into Spanish-speaking and English-speaking hospitals in Spain (particularly in Barcelona). All medical centers are prepared to accept international patients.

Review of the best hospitals in Barcelona

Doubtless, private and public hospitals in Barcelona are the undisputed leaders in the Spanish health care system. Our list of hospitals in Barcelona is based on the Spanish ranking of medical institutions (Índice de Excelencia Hospitalaria, IEH), compiled by the Institute of Management and Applied Economics (Instituto Coordenadas de Gobernanza y Economía Aplicada)in 2016. The 10 best hospitals in Spain, 4 of which are located in Barcelona (Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Hospital Quirónsalud Barcelona, Vall d’Hebron, Centro Médico Teknon), are included in this list. We will discuss each institution in more detail:

Clinical Hospital of Barcelona (Hospital Clinic Barcelona)

Clinical Hospital of Barcelona

Main building of Clinical Hospital of Barcelona

Founded in 1906 as a teaching hospital, Clinical Hospital of Barcelona later was integrated into the city’s network of public medical institutions. According to the IEH ranking, it is an undeniable leader (1st place) among the hospitals of Barcelona in the fieldsof oncological disease treatment and pulmonology. It also ranks third in the treatment of gynecological diseases and rheumatology and second in the field of dermatology. The clinic’s research activity is concentrated mainly in the biomedical, scientific, and research institute, Augusta Pi and Suñer (IDIBAPS). The activities of this scientific hub places Clinical Hospital of Barcelona on the same level with the best research centers in the world. The hospital is designed for 820 patients. The clinic’s institute of oncological and hematological diseases is the best in the whole country. It consists of three departments (medical oncology, hematology, and radiation therapy). The complex treatment of oncological diseases includes prevention, diagnostics, supportive therapy, and specific anti-cancer therapy.

Quirón Clinic (Hospital Quirónsalud Barcelona)

Quirón Clinic, founded in 1944,is one of the best private hospitals in Barcelona. The hospital offers top-quality, complex services almost in all fields of medicine as well as surgical procedures of marked complexity. This medical establishment demonstrates the use of important innovations in the fields of oncology and radiation therapy, minimally invasive surgery (NOTES, SILS), cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, traumatology, reproductive medicine, plastic surgery (one of the most famous plastic surgeons in the world works here), and esthetic medicine.

Vall d'Hebron University Hospital

Building of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital

Vall d'Hebron University Hospital

Университетская больница Валь Д`Эброн была основана в 1952 году. На сегодняшний день представляет собой крупнейшую больницу в Испании (рассчитана на 1400 мест; численность персонала – 6500 человек). Клиника состоит из четырех подразделений: медицинской онкологии, лучевой терапии, центра материнства и детства и центра ортопедии, реабилитации и амбулаторной хирургии, в котором работают профессионалы почти всех медицинских и хирургических специальностей.Специалисты клиники Валь Д`Эброн вовлечены в фундаментальные и клинические исследования как на национальном уровне, так и на международном и обслуживают 3400 пациентов с онкологическими заболеваниями в год.

Centro Médico Teknon

Teknon Clinic was opened in 1994, and in its twenty years of operation has acquired the status of one of the best private hospitals, not only in Barcelona, but also throughout the country. The specialists of this clinic represent all medical and surgical fields, including oncology, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, traumatology, maxillofacial surgery, esthetic surgery, and neurosurgery. More than 400 specialists from different medical fields work on this hospital’s campus. Moreover, the personnel specializing in patient care arealso fluent in several foreign languages. Overall, more than 2000 professionals are engaged in treatment and patient care. In 2010, for the first time in history, the clinic’s surgeons performed a complete face transplant surgery. Themedical center uses the most progressive technologies in the fields of microsurgery, endoscopy, and regenerative surgery with the use of stem cells.

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

Inside of Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

In spite of the fact that this hospital closed in 2009, it is still referred to as one of the city’s most famous landmarks. Sant Pau was founded in 1401; however, at the beginning of theXX century, the legendary complex was renovated by the famous architect, Lluis Domenech i Montaner. Today, the hospital building is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Fund and is considered an outstanding monument of the architecture of the last century.