Cost containment: the Americas. Argentina

For many years, the evolution of Argentina's healthcare system has been influenced by political and economic instability. Inflation and hyperinflation have led to anarchic development of both health administration systems and hospitals. Critical care grew in a similar manner, resulting in a mix...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNew horizons (Baltimore, Md.) Vol. 2; no. 3; p. 336
Main Authors Pálizas, F, Gallesio, A, Wainsztein, N, Ceraso, D, Apezteguía, C, Pacín, J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.08.1994
Subjects
Accreditation
Argentina
Cost Control - methods
Critical Care - economics
Delivery of Health Care - organization & administration
Forecasting
Health Personnel - education
Health Personnel - standards
Health Policy
Humans
Inflation, Economic - trends
Politics
Reimbursement Mechanisms
Argentina
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Summary:For many years, the evolution of Argentina's healthcare system has been influenced by political and economic instability. Inflation and hyperinflation have led to anarchic development of both health administration systems and hospitals. Critical care grew in a similar manner, resulting in a mix of > 500 critical care units with very different levels of technology and trained personnel. Cost-containment policies have been implemented mainly by health administration systems. Public institutions (university and large provincial and county hospitals) have suffered hard budget cuts that have resulted in a decrease in the quality of care and the loss of trained human resources. Union organizations, which cover the healthcare costs of > 60% of the population, implemented a low reimbursement policy that resulted in low standards of care for critically ill patients. The country's private hospital system is extremely heterogenous, ranging from little, simple institutions with a 20- to 30-bed capacity to great private institutions with international standards of care. Cost-containment efforts have been sporadic and isolated, and statistical data to analyze the results are lacking. In order to formulate a strategy of cost-containment in the near future, accreditation and categorization of critical care units and human resources training are being implemented by health authorities and the Argentine Society of Critical Care Medicine.
ISSN:1063-7389