Medical care is expensive and not all the services are included in the public healthcare system’s portfolio of services. Therefore, many users decide to take out a health insurance policy that gives them access to a broader cover, with the possibility of being looked after in private healthcare centres.
This allows them to make the most of the main advantages of the private system, such as fuller cover, more comfortable facilities, more flexible service, availability in wider time bands, highly qualified professionals, cutting-edge healthcare technology… and to save themselves from the common inconveniences of public healthcare, such as overcrowding, delays, waiting lists, restricted time bands and longer and more complicated procedures derived from excessive bureaucratisation of the system which, for example, does not allow patients to visit specialist doctors directly, rather they have to be referred by a general practitioner, which slows the care, diagnosis and treatment down considerably.