Today, we continued to learn more about the sectors of the Argentine healthcare system. We began the day with a lecture from Dra. Josefina Medrano who was the minister of health for the province of Salta. Salta is located in the northern portion of the country and is further inland which has very rugged and mountainous terrain. Salta is also much poorer than the city of Buenos Aires and is also much more rural. Both of these things create many obstacles to healthcare that she taught us about. People living in Salta have to travel long distances to reach healthcare facilities, and most of the hospitals are located in the capital city. To combat this, the public sector of Salta sets up puestos fijos in rural areas, which are primary care facilities that serve a few households and are only staffed when there is demand. Due to the large number of people who live in poverty in Salta, many people use the public healthcare facilities. Later in the day, we toured Argentina’s top public hospital, Hospital Juan A. Fernandez, located in the Palermo section of the city. The hospital felt very similar to many hospitals I have been to back home. It was very crowded which makes sense given that anyone can access it. It was also a little more run down in certain places than other hospitals, but the care they provide to their patients is still high quality. We got a lecture from Ignacio Previgliano, head of the intensive care units, about the history of the hospital and what services they specialize in and how they function. As we walked throughout the hospital, many of the nurses seemed friendly and they were curious why there was such a big group of Americans walking through the hallways. We also learned about the types of workers they employ at the public hospital like doctors, various types of nurses, and other specialties like PT. After lunch, we went to Swiss Medical, which is the largest private healthcare system in Argentina, and they also have an insurance company. We heard from Jorge Lantos, the health director of their main hospital and ex-head of insurance, who talked more about the business side of their operations. The hospital was more like a hotel than a hospital and it was fancier than anywhere I have ever been. We got to see a patient room that was bigger than most apartments in New York City and had a bathroom with gold faucets and a glass shower. The private sector also delivers high quality care, as Dr. Lantos was telling us about cost and value and how Swiss Medical budgets for their expenses. If I was ever in need of a hospital, Swiss Medical would definitely be my choice, and it’s still cheaper than most healthcare in America. I guess you really do get what you pay for.
