Today we explored two of vastly different care centers each serving very different groups. First, we explored the Tigre Delta Clinic and the public hospital in San Isidro. While being very different, both types of healthcare services have to navigate how to allocate funds to primary care or inpatient services. Depending on the circumstances, navigating these funds may be especially challenging.
The Tigre Clinic treats both primary care and emergencies. They serve the greater Tigre area which ranges to over a 2-hour boat ride away. The clinic is fairly small with only a few small rooms with a few specialty doctors. They have a boat ambulance that can pick up patients if is absolutely necessary. Often, the clinic serves lower income people that live along the Tigre River. The clinic often focuses on primary care since they are not adequately funded by the state. Treating patients with preventative care is much less costly than taking the boat ambulance out to treat a severe illness or injury. In order to lower costs, primary care has become the main focus of the Tigre clinic.
After this visit, we had a quick lunch at an Italian restaurant and took a van ride to the public hospital in San Isidro. We toured many different areas of the hospital including the ICU and the general medicine units. We met with Maria, an executive with the public hospital, and she talked about the challenges of acquiring enough funding for the public system even when there is a political difference. Maria also emphasized the importance of funding primary care to not overflow hospitals. In order to spend less money, the health system should fund primary care to treat lesser symptoms. This will prevent hospitals from having to treat patients that do not really need intensive care. This priority will focus the resources of hospitals on critical patients that need care the most.