Who will constitute the state public health agency?

create one A government agency dedicated to public healthApproved by the Cabinet on August 23, it was greeted with widespread optimism across the health sector. As well as in the private health sector, which “celebrated” an initiative that does not want to be a mere spectator. So much so that a file Spanish Private Alliance for Health (ASPE) It has already expressed an interest in joining, at least at an advisory level, one of the bodies established by statute.

on one side, Bill to create a state public health agency (Aesap) Approved by the Council of Ministers on August 23 – Completed the consultation process – Establishes a Obligation to public and private organizations to “provide information for the purposes of the Agency” and to assess the state of the national health system and private sector setting”, and states that the information to be provided will also be specified in the regulatory standards.

ASPE President Carlos Ross considers this measure “reasonable”, because in a way it “seeks to avoid the improvisation of the epidemic and the difficulties that have arisen with regard to the provision of information by independent communities, given the current regulatory vacuum … so far”.

However, it is worth noting that when determining Aesap’s future purposes Private health sector participation is not encouraged, as an integral part of the national health system. Specifically, in the objective contained in the initial draft that refers to “strengthening communication with all available resources in the state public administration, regional and local administrations, and academic and research entities, to develop a comprehensive health policy, ensuring health security and addressing present and future challenges to public health in an accessible manner” .

Waiting for the first six months after approval, as provided by law, and making laws that will organize the organizational structure, expressing the composition, functions, competencies and administrative rank corresponding to each body, ASPE is confident that the Ministry of Health will establish a comprehensive advisory body in which the private health sector is not left aside Nor is any other factor that can provide useful information and experience when formulating preventive strategies in the face of public health emergencies.

One in three Covid patients are treated

It must be remembered that one in three patients admitted to a Covid hospital in Spain was treated in private healthcare, either by insurance, exchange or drawn from the public: 63,800 were hospitalized out of 211,064 – with data As of December 31, 2020 – that is, 30.2%. In addition, 29% of the patients who required care in the intensive care unit (5,302 patients out of 18,251) were treated in private health centers.

“This type of data supports our contribution to a health emergency of the magnitude we have seen,” Carlos Ross recalls, “which should be sufficient to be able to contribute our expertise to any advisory body geared toward the health of all members of the community population.”