By Germán Giles
Under the slogan “Medical Device Priorities for Universal Health Coverage”, the Second Global Forum on Medical Devices, Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), was held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The event, which took place between November 22 and 24, 2013, was attended by world leaders in the field and opened by the director general of the WHO by videolink.
As part of the activities, the Municipality of General Pueyrredón (Mar del Plata-Batán) in the Province of Buenos Aires, specifically its Ministry of Health run by Dr. Alejandro Ferro, presented the text “Network Accessibility”.
As the municipality’s Director General of Medical Technology, it fell to me to speak about the benefits of the medical technologies we have implemented at the municipality. They are, without a doubt, helping in a precise, safe manner to improve diagnoses and treatment to patients.
The project, chosen from among 677 works, was the only one to represent Argentina. Thus we decided to demonstrate the major changes that have been implemented in the Municipal Health System.
The creation of CEMA (Center of Outpatient Medical Specialties) as a second level of care between the Primary Care Centers (CAPS) and Hospitals in Health Zone VIII run by the Ministry of Health of the Province of Buenos Aires, was well-received by participants at the forum because it is a new concept.
Firstly, and fundamentally, this is because the network’s work clearly demonstrates the rational use of medical technologies and other related resources. This point must be emphasized: now that we have them, we must keep them working and make use of them to their full potential. Medical technologies related to and integrated with patients’ Electronic Health Records lead to effective, high quality service. There is no doubt about that.
Secondly, it complements the Emerging and Sustainable Cities initiative that the municipality is working on in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank to ensure that residents have better access to public services.
Statistically, one must bear in mind that 39% of the population of Mar del Plara-Batán do not have health insurance and historically have had limited, sporadic access to more advanced test facilities.
Two months ago, CEMA started to use the first Magnetic Resonance Scanner in the public health system, meeting the needs of all of Zone VIII. Today the health budget makes up 9% of the entire budget of the Municipality of General Pueyrredón.
Thanks to this achievement, the work has received praise from overseas, from those interested in projects involving “Network Accessibility”.
Furthermore, at the forum the city of Mar del Plata was presented as a candidate to host the Third Global Forum on Medical Devices – to be held in 2016 – and received preliminary approval from the WHO authorities and the audience present at the closing ceremony.
The opportunity has certainly been extremely enriching, as it allowed us to exchange experiences with other countries and say what the Municipality of General Pueyrredón has been doing in the field of integral healthcare networks.
For more information, visit the CEMA website: www.mardelplata.gob.ar/cema
