Among the priorities of the action plan for the coming years, Carlos Rus wants to give patients the central place they deserve: “They are at the centre of our raison d’être. For this reason, we are going to increase our interaction with patients’ associations, to listen to their needs and seek synergies to activate our collaboration,” he said. ASPE also intends to “highlight the value of what private healthcare brings to patients”, not only in terms of quality of care and access, but also in relation to “our social responsibility”. “Let us not forget that when we ask for solutions to the shortage of doctors and nurses, when we request the interoperability of medical records, when we demand reduced VAT for medical equipment, when we promote public-private collaboration… what we are looking for is a benefit for the patient, our main mission,” said Carlos Rus.
Greater dialogue with the institutions
In his speech following his re-election, Carlos Rus also stressed the importance of deepening dialogue with institutions. The President of ASPE has valued very positively the progress made in this regard by the Organisation, which has managed to “be a reference interlocutor” and establish a fluid interaction with “private institutions and public administrations of all kinds, in a permanent demonstration of outstretched hands and collaboration”.
Carlos Rus has shown his intention to ensure that dialogue with the Ministry of Health is also more frequent and effective, as it is with all the different regional ministries. “We undoubtedly believe that our voice must be heard and considered in the decisions that affect healthcare in Spain. Our relevance is evident: 3.2% of GDP, 400,000 professionals in the sector, 42% of surgical interventions, and 31% of hospital stays and emergencies that we cover and represent”, Rus emphasised.
In this sense, the president of ASPE makes a new call to advance in public-private collaboration, taking into account that private healthcare is an essential strategic resource in the relationship with health administrations, at a time when the health system is facing unprecedented challenges”. Without the support of the private sector, there will be no effective and sustainable National Health System,” he said.
Standardisation of relations with insurers
Another of the strategic points presented to the General Assembly was the formal improvement of relations with the insurance sector, pointing out that it is imperative to deepen relations “based on trust and transparency”, establishing common guidelines, protocolising medical processes in the nomenclature or establishing written contractual relations, with the final objective of providing a higher quality service, and that collaboration between both parties is essential, “because we need each other, we coexist and we are interdependent”, he affirmed.
Carlos Rus ended his speech by recalling the important achievements made by the employers’ association in recent years, such as the elimination of incompatibilities in various Autonomous Communities, the acceleration of the approval process for foreign professionals, the signing of the Traffic agreement by consensus for the first time, the freezing of VAT on healthcare material during the pandemic, and the collaboration also for the first time with the Ministry of Health to include the private sector in the analysis of the situation of healthcare professionals in Spain.
“The evolution of private healthcare in Spain is an ongoing process, and we are determined to keep moving forward. Together, we will continue to forge a future in which private healthcare in Spain is fully recognised and valued for its essential contribution to society,” concluded Carlos Rus.
Press release posted on the ASPE website
