Catalonia’s healthcare system is recognized as one of the best in the world for its highly qualified medical staff, the widespread use of the most advanced technologies and techniques, strict control and guarantees of good practices.

This strong reputation is the result of a long history, and not an improvisation.

The first milestone 600 years ago was the creation of the Hospital de la Santa Creu, a clear exponent of Catalan civil Gothic art, which has its origins in 1401 with the merger of the six hospitals that were then in Barcelona. In 1930, thanks to the bequest of the banker Pau Gil, a new, more modern hospital complex was inaugurated in another more appropriate location, becoming the jewel of Catalan modernism, the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, created by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner (1850-1923).

The second milestone to consider is the creation of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, whose history begins at the end of the 19th century when Valentí Carulla, grandfather of cardiologist Valentí Fuster, promoted and convinced the administrations to invest resources to start up the hospital, given the increase in Barcelona’s population and its growing medical needs. On the occasion of the Universal Exposition of Barcelona in 1895, work began on the hospital, which opened its doors in 1906 as the first clinical hospital in Spain to combine medical care with the teaching and training of health professionals.

Both centers are situated at the very heart of the development of health sciences in Barcelona, in the areas of care, research, training and innovation.

Currently, specialist training is distinguished by its selection system, the strictest and most demanding in the educational system. For admission to the School of Medicine you must obtain the highest score of all the courses offered. After a long and demanding training, led by the most reputable doctors, to become a specialist you have to pass the MIR exam, one of the most demanding and recognized exams in the world. After many years of intense practice as a resident, the physician often completes his or her training in the best centers in the world for his or her specialty.

The organization of the system promotes the use of the most innovative techniques by hospitals. Therefore, some of the interventions and procedures were performed for the first time in the world in our hospitals.

On the other hand, the Government maintains very demanding accreditation, quality and surveillance systems that guarantee the reliability of health care and the use of the most innovative technologies in public and private medical centers.

The city of Barcelona is home to the most prestigious specialists and world leaders in innovative and minimally invasive techniques.

The WHO and independent expert rankings recognize the Catalan Health System as one of the best in the world.

Among other achievements:

• The survival rate in the most complex operations in the hospitals of Catalonia is one of the best in the world, being the best in several surgical procedures (transplants, children’s cardiovascular surgery, etc.).
• The use of the most advanced techniques makes it possible to reduce the duration of hospitalization, the average duration of which in the case of acute patients is 5 to 7 days. 70% of surgical procedures are performed on an outpatient basis.
• The Barcelona clinics register the least number of complications and post-surgical infections.
• Catalonia has the lowest infant mortality rate in Europe (2.63 per 1,000 live births).
• In Catalonia, life expectancy for men is 82 years, one of the highest in the world, and for women it is 85, the highest in Europe.

Barcelona and its metropolitan area is ranked 40th in the world of the top 200 cities and metropolitan areas for their level of research. (https://www.natureindex.com/supplements/nature-index-2020-science-cities/tables/overall).

Barcelona hosts large infrastructure for the development of research, with the biomedical area being one of its most important lines. Highlights include the ALBA Light Synchrotron, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, which houses the Mare Nostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, and the National Center for Genomic Analysis. These large infrastructure projects are a great support for biomedical research centers located in Barcelona, with a very active involvement of university hospitals that host research teams with a strong international presence, especially in areas such as oncology, regenerative medicine and genetics.

Barcelona and Catalonia are among the 10 most important clinical trial development centers in Europe and among the top 20 worldwide. The city stands out in oncology, where it is among the 10 most important centers in the world and among the top 5 in Europe. (https://www.biocat.cat/en/press-releases/barcelona-among-top-10-europe-clinical-trials).

Several internationally renowned centers are located in the city of Barcelona, offering in the same location the possibility of accessing the most advanced treatments in all medical specialties, among them the hospitals associated with Barcelona International Hospitals.

Thus, together with the Agrupación Sanitaria Hospital Clínic-Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, characterized by being one of the most internationally recognized university and research hospital groups, we find in Barcelona the Puigvert Foundation as a European referral center in urology, nephrology and andrology, the Institut Guttmann The Quirón Group is the largest network of private hospitals in Spain, which is the reference for the medical-surgical treatment and comprehensive rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injury, acquired brain damage or other major neurological disability. Quirónsalud Barcelona Hospital and Teknon Medical Center that are at the forefront in the different fields of medicine, and are prepared for the application of highly complex medicine, with a clear vocation for comprehensive patient care, in addition to the Institute for the Prevention and Control of Diseases (ICD). Hospital Universitari DexeusThe company is a reference in the specialties of gynecology, obstetrics and reproductive medicine.

Barcelona is one of the most appreciated European metropolises for its quality of life, dynamism, knowledge generation and service offer.

Resonance Consultancy ranks Barcelona number 8 in its study on the best cities in the world based on the experiences of people who rate on social networks and online platforms when choosing a destination to travel or live.

Barcelona has positioned itself as one of the most qualified metropolises to host professional congresses and conventions, with the medical congresses and events segment being one of the most developed thanks to the impetus of the Barcelona Convention Bureau. The Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB) is a specialized program of Turisme de Barcelona that aims to promote the city as a venue for congresses, conventions and incentive trips, as well as to provide free and neutral advice to professionals interested in organizing their meeting in Barcelona. (https://www.barcelonaconventionbureau.com/).

For more information on the offer that the city of Barcelona makes available to any visitor, please visit the following website: https://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/es/