Hey again everyone! Today, we had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Gabriel Novick of Swiss Medical. As Dr. Novick described the framework and moving parts of Swiss Medical along with the private healthcare sector, he mentioned the metaphor of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. His point through this analogy was to emphasize the fact that the Argentine Healthcare System has various parts that, when put (or sewed) together, will provide an extensive, effective, and complex system. Each part is absolutely essential in order to yield the final product, which completely mirrors the idea and composition of the Argentine Healthcare System.
The Argentine Healthcare System comprises several different areas/sectors such as the Private System (16%), Social Security (63%), and the Public System (36%) (on the basic level). You also should understand the level of significance, and influence the Ministry of Health has, which should also be categorized as a “Frankenstein Part” due to the fact that it essentially coordinates all of the other branching systems within the aggregate body of the Argentine Healthcare System. The Ministry controls and supervises the delivery of health related services in an effort to ensure efficiency with compliance of regulations. In addition to that, the Ministry also controls the Obras Sociales, PAMI, and prepaid medical companies. It also oversees the general safety and effectiveness of medicines and other biological products. To add, the Ministry also approves and denies requests from the various other “Frankenstein Parts” (such as PAMI, Obras Sociales, etc.).
This analogy can also be explained by discussing the problems. We can say that Frankenstein’s body parts aren’t perfect, as they are literally just sewed on. This mirrors Argentina’s Healthcare System simply because it isn’t perfect. There are various issues and inequalities that should be mentioned when discussing the system. To start, there exists poor coordination and communication between each Frankenstein Part which seemingly holds the overall system back from reaching its full potential. The system in the aggregate also has been known to lack effectiveness in regards to its response to obesity, specifically in children. Another issue would just be that there are many instances that Argentine citizens simply pay too high of premiums and/or the out of pocket costs in the aggregate are burdensome for them. The system has made plans to tighten the sewings by implementing new approaches such as the UHC. To very basically explain, the UHC plan seeks to lower inequality gaps within the system with three approaches. The approaches consist of territory, information, and coverage. Another example of the system’s effort to tighten Frankenstein’s sewings would be the Pharmaceutical Policy which seeks to reduce prices of more than 50% of drugs nationally.
That’s it for today! Thanks!