[Violation of human rights in the mobilizations of October 2019 in Chile]. / Vulneración de derechos humanos en las movilizaciones de octubre de 2019 en Chile.

Chile's October 2019 popular revolt has again made human rights violations visible in the context of mass mobilizations. In terms of damage to the population's health, multiple eye injuries produced by kinetic impact projectiles and tear bombs against people were reported, leading to an outbreak of unpublished eye injuries worldwide. There was excessive use of chemical weapons, and the totality of the chemicals used has not been transparent. The impact on mental health, especially of the population who lived during dictatorship in the 1970s, is uncertain and, health care was overwhelmed in the most vulnerable geographic areas. It is urgent to establish a timely and transparent system for monitoring such lesions and transparent all chemical compounds in tear-tearing and the composition of kinetic impact projectiles.

National Health Policy Reform for Primary Care in Chile: A Qualitative Analysis of the Health Program Documents.

Introduction: Chilean policy makers reformed the national health policy for primary health care (PHC), shifting from the traditional biomedical model to the integral family and community health model with a biopsychosocial approach, to guide the delivery of PHC throughout the country. Purpose: To evaluate the implementation of the national health policy for PHC through an analysis of the program documents for PHC; and to identify to what extent the national health policy is expressed in each program document, and across all the documents. Methods: A qualitative document analysis with a purposive sample of program documents for PHC. The Chilean Ministry of Health website was systematically searched between October and December 2018 to identify relevant program documents. Thematic and content analysis were performed to identify evidence of the biopsychosocial approach to care delivery with each program document, including the types of interactions between professionals that contribute to person-centered or fragmented care. Results: The study included 13 PHC program documents. Three themes and 10 categories emerged from the data. Most program justifications focused on the biopsychosocial approach to care while including biomedical interventions and supporting independent professional work. Only 4 of the 13 programs were consistent in the justification, interventions, and types of stated professional interactions: 2 from the biopsychosocial and 2 from the biomedical perspectives. Conclusion: In terms of the national health policy for PHC in Chile, interprofessional collaboration and person-centered care processes and practices were partially aligned with the written content of the health program documents. As such, policy makers and health sector leaders are advised to analyze draft health program documents for consistency in translating national health policies into the written communications that define the actualization of the care model in PHC and direct professionals how to provide PHC to individuals and families.

Urgent care centres reduce emergency department and primary care same-day visits: a natural experiment.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of urgent care centres' (UCCs) implementation on emergency department (ED) and same-day visits in primary care in a Chilean public healthcare network. Quasi-experimental design study assessing changes in patient visits after UCC implementation in a local health district. Ten family health centres (FHC), nine UCCs and three EDs in the Talcahuano Health District, Chile. A total of 1 603 055 same-day visits to FHC, 1 528 319 visits to UCCs and 1 727 429 visits to EDs, monthly grouped, from 2008 to 2014. Data were obtained from the Monthly Statistical Register Database. We used quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the impact of UCC implementation on ED visits and same-day visits to FHC. We used a difference-in-difference analysis with seasonal adjustments to control potential confounders. We used a triple difference model to test for potential short-term effects. We used as an intervention a group of FHCs and EDs that implemented UCCs from 2008 to 2014 and, as a comparison group, the FHCs and EDs that implemented UCCs before that period. We observed a 5.70% (95% CI: -11.05 to -0.35) decrease in the same-day visits rate to FHCs and a 2.69% (95% CI: -3.96 to -1.43) reduction in ED visits after UCC implementation. The negative trend in same-day visits was more pronounced in children and adolescents (-14.18%; 95% CI: -20.10 to -8.25). The negative trend in ED visits was more pronounced in adult (-4.15%; 95% CI: -5.46 to -2.83) and elderly population (-2.24%; 95% CI: -4.00 to -0.48). We also confirmed that our results are not driven by transient short-term effects after the intervention. UCC implementation reduced ED visits. However, they also reduced same-day visits to primary care centres. This could have a negative impact on the quality of primary care provided.

Health policy in the concertación era (1990-2010): Reforms the chilean way.

The Chilean health system has experienced important transformations in the last decades with a neoliberal turn to privatization of the health insurance and healthcare market since the Pinochet reforms of the 1980s. During 20 years of center-left political coalition governments several reforms were attempted to regulate and reform such markets. This paper analyzes regulatory policies for the private health insurance and health care delivery market, adopted during the 1990-2010 period. A framework of variation in market types developed by Gingrich is adopted as analytical perspective. The set of policies advanced in this period could be expected to shift the responsibility of access to care from individuals to the collective and give control to the State or the consumers vis a vis producers. Nevertheless, the effect of the implemented reforms has been mixed. Regulations on private health insurers were ineffective in terms of shifting power to the consumer or the state. In contrast, the healthcare delivery market showed a trend of increasing payers' and consumers' control and the set of implemented reforms partially steered the market toward collective responsibility of access by creating a submarket of guaranteed services (AUGE) with lower copayments and fully funded services. Emerging unintended consequences of the adopted policies and potential explanations are discussed. In sum, attempts to use regulation to improve the collective dimension of the Chilean health system has enabled some progress, but several challenges had persisted.

Estudio piloto: costos directos atribuibles al tabaquismo en dos hospitales de Santiago / Pilot study: tobacco-attributable direct costs in two hospitais in Santiago, Chile

Background: Tobaceo is the fourth cause of the global burden of disease, accounting for 79.9 million loss of disability-adjusted Ufe years (DALYs) in 2001. In 2002, tobacco-attributable mortality in Chile represented 17 percent of total mortality. Aim: To estimate the direct cost of tobaceo in Ischemic Heart Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cáncer, explore patients' disposition to answer a health related expenses questionnaire, valídate the instruments used and determine an adequate sample size for an upcoming study. Material and methods: Socio-demographic and health care related variables were investigated among patients attending two publie hospitais for ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer, in a cross-sectional study. Costs were estimated using the national publie health insurance price list and market pnces. Tobacco-attributable fraction was then applied to calcúlate the tobacco-attributable cost ofeach disease. Results: The instruments used were validated. The group of lung cáncer patients was smaller due to increased mortality prior to interview. Lung cancer generated the largest total and attríbutable direct costs. The costs in patients with ischemic heart disease were significantly lower Conclusions: There were some difficulties in the application of the questionnaire to register medication use. The sample size needed in a larger study was calculated for each of the three diseases. We recommend that a definitive study addresses tobacco-attributable direct costs related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

[Pilot study: tobacco-attributable direct costs in two hospitals in Santiago, Chile]. / Estudio piloto: costos directos atribuibles al tabaquismo en dos hospitales de Santiago.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco is the fourth cause of the global burden of disease, accounting for 79.9 million loss of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2001. In 2002, tobacco-attributable mortality in Chile represented 17% of total mortality. AIM: To estimate the direct cost of tobacco in Ischemic Heart Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer, explore patients' disposition to answer a health related expenses questionnaire, validate the instruments used and determine an adequate sample size for an upcoming study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Socio-demographic and health care related variables were investigated among patients attending two public hospitals for ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer, in a cross-sectional study. Costs were estimated using the national public health insurance price list and market prices. Tobacco-attributable fraction was then applied to calculate the tobacco-attributable cost of each disease. RESULTS: The instruments used were validated. The group of lung cancer patients was smaller due to increased mortality prior to interview. Lung cancer generated the largest total and attributable direct costs. The costs in patients with ischemic heart disease were significantly lower CONCLUSIONS: There were some difficulties in the application of the questionnaire to register medication use. The sample size needed in a larger study was calculated for each of the three diseases. We recommend that a definitive study addresses tobacco-attributable direct costs related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Financiamiento del sistema de salud chileno / The Chilean health system financing

OBJETIVO: Explorar el financiamiento del sistema de salud chileno sobre la base de los datos más recientes disponibles. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se utiliza el marco teórico de los sistemas de salud del informe de salud del mundo del año 2000 de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) para analizar el financiamiento del sistema de salud chileno, con especial énfasis en los esquemas de aseguramiento existentes. RESULTADOS: En el sistema de salud chileno hay una gran proporción de personas cubiertas por los seguros de salud existentes (alrededor de 88 por ciento); sin embargo, se presenta una tendencia importante hacia la segmentación de la población, sea por riesgo o por ingreso. Se observan esfuerzos, en especial por parte del Fondo Nacional de Salud (FONASA), orientados a realizar una compra estratégica de servicios de salud. CONCLUSIONES: Existe aún mucho espacio para mejorar el financiamiento del sistema de salud chileno, sobre todo en cuanto a pooling y compra estratégica.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the Chilean health system financing based on the most recent available data. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using the WHO World Health Report 2000 framework, this paper analyzes the Chilean health system financing, with special emphasis on insurance schemes. RESULTS: The analysis shows that a great proportion of people is covered by the existing health insurance schemes (about 88 percent). However, there is a tendency towards segmentation of the population in terms of risk and income. Additionally, efforts have been made, especially by FONASA (National Health Fund), to perform a strategic purchasing of healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: There still is a need for improving the Chilean health system financing in terms of pooling and strategic purchasing.

[The Chilean health system financing]. / Financiamiento del sistema de salud chileno.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the Chilean health system financing based on the most recent available data. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using the WHO World Health Report 2000 framework, this paper analyzes the Chilean health system financing, with special emphasis on insurance schemes. RESULTS: The analysis shows that a great proportion of people is covered by the existing health insurance schemes (about 88%). However, there is a tendency towards segmentation of the population in terms of risk and income.Additionally, efforts have been made, especially by FONASA (National Health Fund), to perform a strategic purchasing of healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: There still is a need for improving the Chilean health system financing in terms of pooling and strategic purchasing.