2023-09-22 12:18:00
Medical consultation, in addition to a health act, is the livelihood of many professionals in Argentina, according to what they stated.
“This September 21, the doctors of the Argentine Republic have no reason to celebrate. We are going through a sad reality: a crisis that has brought medical fees to the lowest level in history,” begins a statement promoted by 30 medical groups within the framework of Health Day.
In the text, the entities report that a “minimum ethical medical fee” is established for the professional consultation of $6,000. “If what we receive from the system (social works, prepayments, sanatoriums, among others) is less than this amount, the difference will be covered by the patient as a non-refundable complementary bonus,” they noted.
“The medical consultation is a fundamental act in which we attend to the needs of our patients, diagnose diseases and work on their recovery. It is also the act through which we receive a professional fee that allows us to live with dignity,” the text continues.
“Traditionally,” they expressed, “this service was valued by health funders, but we have never had the ability to set its value ourselves. We professionals were never able to determine how much we should receive for this work and when we should receive it.”
The delay in payment of fees is a problem that worsens with inflation in the country
In the statement they indicated: “In recent years, the value of medical consultations in our country has experienced a drastic drop, ranking as one of the lowest in the region. In recent months, this situation has worsened, adding to the delay in payment of fees between two and six months following providing our services. “Unsustainable for health professionals today with the existing high inflation level.”
The more than 30 medical groups were forceful: “Today, we doctors say: enough! No more imposing an unworthy value on our fees, no more delays in payments, no more unjustified debits, and no more having control over the value of our work. From this moment on, the price of the service, the value of our fees will be in the hands of the doctors themselves, through our associations, chambers, councils, federations and medical societies that represent us.”
To continue maintaining quality and excellence in care, they hereby communicated “to the Government authorities, Ministry of Health, Superintendency of Health, all financiers and health managers, including social works, prepaid, insurance, Sanatoriums , Clinics, offices, etc., also including all areas where we carry out our consultations and medical practices, and the entire Argentine population who:
More than 30 medical groups joined forces in the face of unworthy values and delays in payments, according to what was highlighted in the statement (Getty)
1. A minimum ethical value of medical consultation is hereby implemented, and the “minimum ethical medical fee” that we have arrived at to maintain a decent federal tariff floor is $6,000 Argentine pesos.
The difference between what we receive from the system (managers, social works, prepayments, sanatoriums, clinics, etc.) as the consultation fee and said “minimum ethical medical fee” must be paid by the patient at the consultation. It is not coinsurance. It is not an additional. It is not a co-payment. This difference is a “non-refundable complementary bonus”.
2. Said value will be adjustable bimonthly with the inflation index throughout the national territory as a reference.
3. The undersigned associations, chambers, councils, federations and societies that represent doctors of each specialty, endorse what has been decided, stand in solidarity with what is provided here and will adopt measures to support and support all medical specialists who implement the “ minimum ethical medical fee” might be harmed by unfair and arbitrary measures by the health system.
“This joint, firm and irrevocable decision, since it is not part of any group or individual agreement, is disseminated to all colleagues in the country and is implemented with the support of all Associations, Chambers, Councils, Federations and Self-convened Medical Societies that they subscribe. “It is the best possible way to provide adequate care to our patients,” they concluded in the statement.
This action seeks to guarantee adequate care for patients in the midst of a tariff crisis /REUTERS/Nacho Doce
The following signed the agreement: the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology and the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology; the Argentine Association of Surgery; The Argentine Association of Head and Neck Surgery; the Argentine Association of Controversies in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Argentine Association of Gynecological Oncology; the Argentine Menopause Andropause Association; the Argentine Association of Neurosurgery; the Argentine Association of Clinical Oncology; the Argentine Association for the Study of the Climate Climate; the Argentine Civil Association of Pediatric Surgery; the Association of Otorhinolaryngology of Buenos Aires; the Santa Isabel Professional Association; the Argentine Medical Association of Contraception and the Argentine Urogynecological Association.
Also joining: Argentine College of Cardiology; the Argentine Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Societies; the Argentine Federation of Otorhinolaryngology Societies; the National Federation of Neurosurgery; the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Buenos Aires; the Argentine Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Province of Buenos Aires; the Argentine Society of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery; the Argentine Society of Gynecological and Reproductive Endocrinology; the Argentine Society of Cardiology; the Argentine Society of Dermatology; the Argentine Society of Cardiac Electrophysiology; the Argentine Endometriosis Society; the Argentine Society of Child and Youth Gynecology; the Argentine Society of Mastology; the Argentine Society of Reproductive Medicine; the Argentine Society of Emergency Pathologies and Emergentology; the Argentine Society of Rheumatology; the Argentine Society of Urology and the Argentine Society of Gynecological Surgery.
And they showed solidarity: Argentine Council of Ophthalmology; the Argentine Federation of Radiology; the Argentine Federation of Cardiology; the Argentine Society of Radiology; the Argentine Society of Ultrasonography in Medicine and Biology and the Argentine Society of General Internal Medicine.
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