- First contact physicians treat 75% of all conditions that affect the population.
- The authorities affirm that the new Mexican health system puts people and communities at the center of attention.
- They also asked health professionals for a better distribution in the national territory because most of the doctors are in the big cities.
One of the tasks of health professionals is to assist in the implementation of the new health system. Now it stands out because it is based on comprehensive, preventive, timely, equitable, close to people and, above all, humanistic primary care, said the General Director of Quality and Health Education of the Ministry of Health, José Luis García Ceja.
When participating in the 19th Public Health Research Congress organized by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), he explained that the new model puts communities and people at the center of attention, whom it recognizes as subjects of rights and does not as market items.
Current transformation to serve more patients
In his presentation “Professional skills necessary for the implementation of a new health system in Mexico”, pointed out that health professionals should give priority to the first level. The reason is because it is where more than 75 percent of the ailments that affect the population are treated, “with a preventive rather than a curative vision.”
In this new approach, professionals must strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, not limit themselves to providing care in the office, but rather carry out their profession in the community and, if necessary, provide home consultation.
García Ceja explained that a equitable distribution of medical professionals. He gave Mexico City an example because it concentrates 385.2 doctors for every 100,000 inhabitants, while other federal entities are far below that figure.
Mexican health system like Denmark’s?
On the other hand, it cannot be forgotten that one of the greatest promises of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is that Mexico will have a health system like Denmark’s. In fact, he has already set a date because he has said that before the end of this 2023 it will be a reality.
According to his words, during this year the transformation will be consolidated. The objective is to achieve the universalization of health so that no person is left without care or medication. He also reaffirmed that the priority is to provide care to the population that currently does not have social security.
This promise is the same that he made at the beginning of his six-year term, although at first he could not fulfill it due to the start of the pandemic. Instead, he now assured that the Nordic-style health system will be a reality in Mexico despite all the adversities.
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