[Decentralization of health services in Mexico in the 80's]. / La descentralización de los servicios de salud en México en la década de los ochenta.

The objective of this article is to review the decentralization process that took place in the 1980s. First, some principles in relation to this topic are presented. Next, the legal foundations and the agreements which were established for Federation-states coordination are outlined, as well as basic points related to the introduction of the decentralization strategy. The favorable and unfavorable factors that affect the process are established and, finally, the possibility of carrying out decentralization of health services at the municipal level is briefly discussed.

[Coverage of health services]. / Cobertura de los servicios de salud.

In this paper the concepts and criteria related to health coverage are discussed in the context of the organization of national health systems. The main international agreements based on WHO/PAHO proposals are also described. The relationship between primary health care and health coverage is analyzed and the evolution of the programs for the extension of health coverage in Mexico are discussed, with emphasis on the problems of overlap and definition of the universe in the several institutions of the health sector. Finally, the author reviews the problems to measure coverage in order to guarantee social and operative efficiency of the Mexican health system.

[Basis for the evaluation of health care quality at the medical units of the health sector]. / Bases para la evaluación de la calidad de la atención en las unidades médicas del sector salud.

A methodology for evaluating the quality of services rendered by the health institutions is presented. This methodology, proposed by the Basic Evaluation Group of the Health Sector, includes an operational diagnosis of the health care units, allowing the identification of service-rendering problems, this facilitating the elaboration of alternative solutions in the patient's best interests. It can be applied at all levels of the institutional hierarchy, from service and department levels to the macro dimension of health care. In order to obtain its best results, the methodology must be utilized systematically and continuously.

[New hospitals of the program for reconstruction and reorganization of health services in the metropolitan area]. / Los nuevos hospitales del programa de reconstrucción y reordenamiento de los servicios de salud en el area metropolitana.

This article describes the stages in the building of the general hospitals of 144 beds included in the Health Services Reconstruction and Reordering Program. The Program is being carried out by the Health Ministry in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, emphasizing the reordering sense of the activities developed to cope with the observed unbalances in the distribution of health services among the various zones in the area. The article examines also the coordination among the internal units of the Health Ministry and other agencies in the Health Sector. Finally, the lessons of the experience derived from those processes are discussed.