A delegation of 17 people, led by President Leonardo Cipriani, representing the Association of State Health Services (ASSE) appeared before the Integrated Budget Commission with the Treasury of the Chamber of Senators, in order to provide details and information corresponding to the management of the year 2021, but also reporting on what happened in this 2022.
Regarding the primary balance of his presentation, Cipriani pointed out that, regarding the medication issue, “we gave a clear, concrete explanation to stop this story of the lack of medication, because it has already become a story, and personally we have already appeared with the Minister of Public Health in the Chamber, for more than 18 hours in the Rendering of Accounts of Deputies requests for a report. It is what is missing at the national level due to the shortage of supplies, due to an industry problem. I mean, it was missing in that, it was missing in any provider.
“In fact, ASSE has had reservations about lending, and the administrative manager clearly explained how to add three items, because before they were added only in two points in the Ministry of Economy. But there is a third item that had to be added due to the effects of the pandemic, which does not mean that gray silver was used from there, so that part must be added. The administrative manager was very clear about how the institution has been buying medicines. In fact, we have compared the number of prescriptions that I know we deliver per consultation actually carried out, and we increased the number of prescriptions dispensed by 9.4% per consultation that is given”, added the head of ASSE.
“That coincides with the study of the Association of National Laboratories of the Industry itself, that in 2021 the State broke a record in the purchase of medicines. It is the year that more medicine is bought and we continue with an equal projection for the months that we are going from 20 to 22, ”said the hierarch, who ruled out that this was related to the pandemic. “It doesn’t exactly have it, because what we did was compare semesters. Pre-pandemic, we always use 2019, we use the first semester of 2019 with the first six months of 2021, because we already had normal polyclinic activity and it is a trend that continues. What has been worked on is very professional and I want to highlight all the ASSE, chemical, pharmacy and medical teams applying the Vademecum when at the national level there is a lack of what drug is being replaced with in order to do so. The Uruguayan pharmaceutical laboratory began to produce medication, not in its entirety, but we do hope that this will happen soon. And the Ministry of Public Health has already authorized the importation of some of the drugs that did not exist in the market, ”he explained to the media at a press conference.
He added that currently “there is a lack of medicines that are not in the market, that if I am not mistaken, we are around 21, which are for drugs, no, they are not in the market, that is, ASSE does not have them. but neither do they have in the private sector. In relation to similar medications, he replied that “If it is what is done from the medical point of view, in fact, in the direction of our medication headquarters, together with the authorities of the Pereira Rossell Hospital, they are already guiding the management of when there is no substance by which it is interacting.
“This year we increased, we are going to go, we entered with 2.9 billion pesos to buy me and this year we are buying 4.3 billion pesos for medicines,” added Cipriani, who pointed out that “in this we have to transmit calm, since many times people thinks that we have a missing medication in ASSE because suddenly there is no trade name or something else, or when medications are requested that are outside the provision, outside what the National Integrated Health System, with what is called the formulary Therapeutic of Medications, indicates that the famous vade mecum must be given. In other words, there was, in that there was nothing scheduled, since each doctor had a fairly free prescription, in which no provider can be like that, because that really causes an alteration in the entire system. In fact, we have to remember the topic of medicines, and going to the archives is always a topic that over the last few months, October or sometimes before, in September, they always began to be missing because all the items were consumed”.
Regarding the topic of specialists in the interior, we know that this happens. In fact, we are working with the functions of high dedication to be able to establish doctors in the interior and we are also working that today we put the topic of telemedicine here, telemedicine that is not consultation by phone or by computer, yes they are also with real telemedicine clinics, we already have 27, it is born that it has been donated to us. There are 27 fixed and 27 portable, in which we are already starting and we already have some specific places in which we are working with very good success”.
In line with the issue, Cipriani said that on the issue of beds “they have to be separated according to what they are for. In the Vilardebó Hospital there are about 325 beds, and before yesterday there were 280 patients admitted. We have beds at the same time in the rest of the country and in general hospitals. We are going to inaugurate next week, beds in the San José Hospital. In relation to beds for addictions, that is something else. That’s addiction, addiction, that’s another. It is another issue that is a structural issue and that is being worked on to address addictions. The treatment, the addiction has two parts, it takes what is the detoxification that is carried out in the General Hospital or the psychiatric hospital, which is a short hospitalization process, and then there is habituation. Do the real rehabilitation treatment to do a real rehabilitation treatment. We have 121 beds, now Mides is going to add 200 more beds. We have an agreement with Mides to be able to work on that. It is a huge effort. We have been increasing that, we had much less when we entered. And what yes, when one studies the demand that ASSE needs, it would be needing about 1,100 beds”, he said.
The hierarch recognized that “it happens to us specific alterations as it can happen now. Lately we had at the Vilardebó Hospital with the issue of the emergency door, in which 11 doctors out of a total of 36 resigned. That happened because one studies, there were better job offers and doctors who have left reside in the interior, but to make it clear that the hospital was never left unattended. He always stayed with general medicine doctors, with ambulances. I feel five inside, since there was never an issue of attention.
Regarding the Cerro hospital, Cipriani said that the work is 30% complete, and now the Assistance Health Center has begun to be repaired. In addition, a Mides office and an office of the National Directorate of Civil Identification will be installed, to provide more comprehensive care, said the president of ASSE. The work is expected to be completed in August 2023. As for the costs, he pointed out that it exceeds 300 million pesos, while another 120 million pesos are invested for the repair and refurbishment of the assistance center.
