Cartagena, Colombia.- Countries’ resources are limited, so investment in healthcare must be carried out with very serious processes and not allocating the biggest budgets to whoever knocks the loudest on the door, said health economist Natalia Jorgensen.
Interviewed as part of the health forum organized by Roche, the expert commented that the health needs of countries are endless, so ultimately in each country it is necessary to set priorities well in order to invest better.
And in addition, he emphasized, the entire population must be represented in the decision-making on defining the state budget for health.
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At the forum held this Thursday organized by the pharmaceutical company, experts warned that in the use of public resources, the voice of patients is often neglected, innovations are not applied, and women are at a disadvantage.
For Jorgensen, health budgets should generally aim to improve population health, reduce inequality and provide financial protection.
In addition, he said, in the criteria for the allocation of funds for healthcare, there should also be an intergenerational criterion, according to the specialist.
“We need sustainable health systems that care for today’s patients while also caring for those who will be patients in the future,” he said.
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In his talk on the panel “Innovation for Women-Centered Health Care,” Jorgensen explained that health projects must demonstrate that they will have an impact, mainly in saving lives.
For his part, Andrés Bruzual, general director from Roche Mexico, said that Mexico must recognize that it is one of the OECD countries that invests the least in health.
The average investment in health of OECD member countries is 9% of GDP, while Mexico records a level of investment in health of 5.8%, slightly more than half of which is from private initiative resources, stated the head of a pharmaceutical company in Mexico.
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