The Ministry of Health has opened a melon that is causing a lot of stir: it wants the heads of public hospitals to dedicate themselves exclusively to the National Health System. That the possibility of combining work in public and private healthcare be limited by law, through the Framework Statute – something like the bible of the working conditions of healthcare professionals.
We know, although we do not have precise data that makes it black and white, that there are many doctors who have private consultations in the afternoons. Even – the least, I hope – that have clinic emporiums, like the crazy case that the El País colleagues of the head of the La Paz Dermatology service revealed.
“Moonlight employment is high in the sector but uneven depending on specialties and regions,” he says. a report from the Ministry. The furthest we have gone is to estimate, based on data from private healthcare employers, how many professionals work part-time outside the public system. In specialties such as psychiatry, pulmonology, neurology, ophthalmology or gynecology, the percentage exceeds 50% and exceeds 75% in the case of surgeons (cardiovascular, plastic or maxillofacial).
With these figures, imagine if it is a topic of interest. So we return to the Ministry’s proposal. The minister told it at a press conference that was to talk about the flu and gave us an unexpected headline that has caused a lot of queues for the rest of the week.
There are unions that are inclined to support the measure, such as Workers’ Commissions. But others, like the people of Madrid from Amyts, do not see a good color in things. They think that it is “starting the house with the roof” and warn that, if they force the leadership to have exclusivity, “it will be very difficult to find willing people.” Next to nothing. The Collegiate Medical Organization, which brings together medical associations in Spain, says that it is better to motivate professionals than to force them to do certain things.
The matter is important because, let’s be clear, money comes into play and is directed at super-established dynamics in the healthcare ecosystem. One of the arguments that the Ministry uses to explain its proposal – for now, it is only that because the text is not finished and then a very long legislative process awaits – is that the prestige of the public sector is used for the private sector’s own benefit. . Also that the measure would put an end to possible conflicts of interest.
How do you see it?
While you were doing other things…
- This Madrid public hospital – by the way, managed by the company Ribera Salud – has been without endocrines for ten days and now has a backlog of pending appointments and only two part-time doctors. Details.
- If the person in the seat next to you on the bus doesn’t cough, you’ll get coughed at the bakery. If you feel surrounded by viruses, this guide to winter pathogens may interest you.
- Come on, and good news from the National Transplant Organization. The number of donated organs once again sets a record in Spain, with 10% more than a year ago. A success of the system and, above all, of the solidarity of the people in very difficult times.
We will always have Asisa
For the umpteenth week, I don’t know how long ago: Muface. Adeslas and DKV, two of the three companies that provided private healthcare to civil servants and their families, have gotten off the wagon because it is not worth it. It doesn’t provide enough benefits because mutual members have gotten older and that, dear, in insurance is a risk. So only Asisa remains.
As I write this newsletter, the private healthcare employers’ association (ASPE) is saying that it also wants to negotiate with the Government to prevent insurers from hoarding the economic improvements of the new contract. They complain that these companies pay very little to the doctors who are on their staff, something that we already said two years ago and seems to have not changed.
And that’s it for the week’s messes. The one that comes, more.
Sofia
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