Out with the Old, in with the New

Q: What are IMSS’ priorities in terms of health and healthcare?
A: Our main goals are to efficiently and effectively implement expenditure, achieve better collection, fight corruption and move toward universalizing medical services in Mexico together with other health institutions. The objective is that nobody is left without the opportunity to exercise their right to health. From IMSS’ side, we want medical units to operate at their maximum capacity for all levels of care, every day of the week and on both shifts. This will allow us to grow our patient capacity without the need to build new medical units. Technology will be key in increasing access to healthcare. IMSS will also launch a telephone medical consultation service, home care and telemedicine. These elements will be used to expand access to health facilities as they reduce the need for visits and bed use by up to 20 percent.
IMSS’ directors are also visiting IMSS-Welfare’s rural hospitals with President López Obrador. These hospitals provide primary and secondary-level medical care to the population without social security. Employing a preventive approach and a comprehensive healthcare model based on medical care and community action will allow more than 13 million people from remote communities in the country to receive treatment.
Q: What are your main objectives as head of IMSS for the next six years?
A: Historically, IMSS has always supported Mexico’s population and we are proud to do our part, strengthening what works and has worked and returning to the institute’s founding principle of social security. We want to guarantee that employees have access to quality health facilities, identifying areas of opportunity and evolving to face the new realities transforming the country’s health landscape. We will promote a more inclusive IMSS and work every day with a very clear idea: guarantee medical care for all Mexicans. We must move from the idea of rights on paper to guarantee real health rights for all. To achieve this, we will implement actions to increase affiliation and collection in proportion to the economically active population.
Q: What problems will be solved through the “Agreement to strengthen access to justice and social security for workers or their beneficiaries,” signed by STPS and IMSS?
A: This agreement will allow joint reviews between the STPS and IMSS, so IMSS can access more information regarding the relationship between workers and their employers. In case of omitted information, IMSS will analyze the company’s processes to determine the correct classification for occupational risk insurance and the correct fees derived from it. We want to identify aggressive outsourcing schemes that under-declare salaries and thereby affect the contribution base. Finally, we want to have more reliable information regarding work-related accidents and other useful statistical data.
Q: What are IMSS’ major achievements to this day?
A: Among the most important achievements is the significant reduction in the mortality rate of women due to pregnancy and the 50 percent reduction in the risk of death for children due to infectious diseases. We have also moved forward with population changes. In recent years, services have been adapted to new conditions characterized by an aging population. PrevenIMSS was created to promote health and timely detection of chronic diseases. However, we continue to address other health matters at the same time. We improved our primary healthcare model and reduced mortality due to cervical-uterine and breast cancer. Vaccination has also improved and we are seeing better results in reducing the risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases.
In the area of transplants, we are the leading public institution. IMSS’ transplant productivity grew by 97.5 percent over the past decade, from 1,728 transplants in 2008 to 3,412 in 2018. This has been possible thanks to the training of specialists through agreements with several hospitals abroad, including Claude Bernard University in Lyon, the Vall d’Hebrón Hospital in Barcelona, La Paz University Hospital in Madrid and the Tokyo Pediatric Hospital.

The Mexican Institute of Social Security  (IMSS)  is Mexico’s leading healthcare and social protection institution. It was founded in 1943 and combines research and medical practice, with the administration of social security and pensions