Dr. Pedro Martinez Borrero whose specialty is Family Medicine, with more than 30 years of experience in the health system, for his human and professional warmth is a reference in the medical service of the city, he is bilingual and works with major hospitals in the city.
We have asked for a brief summary of the health care system in Ecuador.
In reality, we should speak of “health systems in Ecuador”, although the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) is the governing body of health, there are several systems, which are not always interconnected.
The first is the public system dependent on the central government, which is fragmented,
centralized and disarticulated in the provision of health services, with a predominance of the biologist-curative approach to care; focused on disease and hospital care. It is organized at three levels: health area, provincial level and national level, and its characteristics are to guarantee the rights of citizens through universality, comprehensiveness, equity and free of charge.
The other public system is the social security system (IESS), which is public and universal, cannot be privatized and will attend the contingent needs of the population affiliated to it. To be a beneficiary of this system, people must contribute with a monthly affiliation fee, which allows its use in the health centers and hospitals that depend on it. Foreigners can also access this service.
There is a third system that depends on several instances,
The private sector is made up of both for-profit entities (hospitals, clinics, clinics, clinics, doctors’ offices, pharmacies and prepaid medicine companies) and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social service associations, such as municipalities, Red Cross, Junta de Beneficencia, Sociedad de Lucha contra el Cáncer (SOLCA); this group is not for profit, but the user must pay for the use of the facilities.
To access the benefits offered in this group, patients or users must pay either with their own money or through private health insurance.
In order to operate, private entities must be registered and authorized by the MSP.
Private health insurance is contracted particularly through insurance brokers, and has a differentiated cost, depending on the age and other health conditions of the insured. They have a waiting period (in which they will not pay for some services, unless they are accidents) or, in other cases, they may have exclusions that may limit payment for some health problems. Private insurance does not cover mental illnesses or preventive practices, if there is no diagnosis to support the performance of examinations or other diagnostic tests (such as X-rays, mammograms or stress tests without an indication of illness).
For information about Dr. Martinez’s services contact: email: pjmartinezborrero@gmail.com, office 072815803, 072810211, personal cell phone (Whatsapp or iMesage) 0998304656
