Guanajuato: First in Health Resources Management

During his second state address Diego Sinhue, Governor of Guanajuato, said health has been a priority for his administration. According to the Health Expenditure Transparency Index of 2019, the state was first in the ranking of transparency in management of health resources. Sinhue clarified that his administration will continue to provide medical attention through the Seguro Popular program and will not join the INSABI system operated by the federal government.

Now, let’s jump in The Week in Healthcare!

NATIONAL

• The Ministry of Health informed Mexico still has control over the COVID-19 outbreak with only five confirmed cases of the disease, 35 cases under surveillance and 143 discharged cases. Approximately 96 percent of the cases came from people who visited Italy. One other person visited South Korea and another visited Japan, explained José Luis Alomía, Director General of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health. It is estimated that the government will need supplies for 275,000 people who could be in danger of contagion, according to what happened in China.

• The Commissions of Justice, Health and the Second Commission of Legislative Studies generally approve the cannabis regulation for medical, recreational and industrial use with 26 votes in favor, seven against and eight abstentions. The proposal allows people to possess up to 28g of marijuana, up from the current 5g. For those with health conditions, the government will grant permission to grow up to 20 plants after filing the corresponding permit at the Mexican Institute of Regulation and Control of Cannabis. 

• From 2014 to 2019, more than MX$4.2 billion (US$198.5 million) were diverted from public health institutions using ghost companies. It is estimated that around 23,000 fake bills were paid by 80 health sector institutions to 837 phantom companies, according to the Executive Director of Zero Impunity, Irene Tello Arista. 

INTERNATIONAL

• Peru confirmed on Friday its first case of Coronavirus. President of Peru Martín Vizcarra announced the first case of COVID-19 on a 25-year-old men who recently travelled to Spain, France and Czech Republic. Peru’s Ministry of Health (MINSA) has the necessary protocols to address this situation, according to the president, and has already implemented the needed protocols at airports and marine terminals.