Despite important progress in financial protection with the last health reform implemented since 2003 with Seguro Popular, effective access to health care in Mexico has not yet been fully achieved. The vision of the present Mexican health administration, 2012-2018, is to transform the Mexican health care system so that it ensures equitable and effective access to quality health care, regardless of the labor or socioeconomic status of the person who seeks care. This article is an overview of how we at the Ministry of Health plan to fulfill this vision. It analyzes three challenges that the Mexican health system currently faces to achieve effective access to quality health care and proposes specific strategies to address them. The first step to fulfill that vision is to strengthen the stewardship role of the Ministry of Health, through instruments such as new legal frameworks and better information for more effective regulation and permanent monitoring and evaluation of the health care system's performance, with a focus on quality of health care. In the short term, better coordination between institutions should be achieved by ensuring that resources follow the patient where she receives care through the instruments suggested above and by guaranteeing that resources are used efficiently and in a transparent manner. In the long term, Mexico's health care system should adapt its infrastructure and human resources to deliver primary care services to effectively meet the increasing demands for chronic disease prevention and management.
Objetivo. Evaluar la capacidad del marco legal federal para gobernar el financiamiento de las instituciones públicas de salud mediante esquemas innovadores que les permiten comprar y vender servicios de salud de y a otros proveedores públicos, como una estrategia para mejorar su desempeño. Material y métodos. Con base en indicadores de alineamiento normativo respecto de la integración funcional entre instituciones proveedoras públicas y de gobernanza, se analizó el contenido de los programas nacionales de salud y de leyes y lineamientos oficiales pertinentes para la coordinación financiera. Resultados. Se identificó un avance considerable en la implementación de convenios para la coordinación de las instituciones públicas. No obstante, el marco legal en apoyo al Sistema Nacional de Salud y al sector salud muestra deficiencias y contradicciones que limitan su alcance, mientras que el Padrón General de Salud carece del sustento legal necesario para convertirse en una herramienta de amplio beneficio para la integración. Si bien los convenios de intercambio de servicios están avanzando con base en tarifas y lineamientos compartidos, se carece de incentivos que promuevan su expansión. Conclusiones. Es recomendable actualizar el marco legal para la coordinación del Sistema Nacional de Salud, procurando un enfoque más armónico y general que impulse la integración funcional.
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