Andalusian Health Service Explained

Agency Name:Andalusian Health Service
Type:Health Care Service
Nativename:Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS)
Picture Width:250px
Picture Caption:Official Logo
Formed:May 6, 1986
Preceding1:Instituto Nacional de la Salud (INSALUD)
Jurisdiction:Regional Government of Andalusia
Employees:104,198 professionals (2019)
Budget:10,096,000,000 € (2020)
Chief1 Name:Miguel Ángel Guzmán Ruiz
Chief1 Position:Director Gerente
Agency Type:Public Provider
Parent Department:Councillery of Health

The Andalusian Health Service (Spanish; Castilian: Servicio Andaluz de Salud, SAS), the government-run health system for the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, was created on May 6, 1986, as an autonomous agency attached to the Regional Ministry of Health (Consejería de Salud y Familias) of the Andalusian Autonomous Government. The SAS is part of the decentralised Spanish National Health System, and is funded through the annual budget of the Andalusian Autonomous Community. As of 2019, the agency has more than 104,000 employees, including nurses, doctors, pharmacists, veterinarians, social workers, and administrative and service staff. It manages 50 hospitals and more than 1,500 local clinics, covering all medical specialities and applying a wide range of treatments and procedures. The agency also runs emergency rooms, ambulances and medical transport (including aerial transport), physiotherapy, mental health care, etc. Drugs and prescriptions are subsidized, and people pay a percentage of the price depending on its incomes, with a monthly limit for unemployed and retired pacients.

Functions of the SAS

Article 13.3 of Decree 241/2004 of 18 May establishes the functions of the SAS:

Its functions are further delineated by:

Competencies an organization of the SAS

Primary care

Ley 2/1998 establishes a primary health care system for Andalusia. This is the first level of access for the people of Andalusia to the SSPA. Among its characteristic elements is the availability of integrated health services including preventive, curative and rehabilitative care. It is also responsible for the promotion of health, for health-related education, and for monitoring the environment with respect to health.

As of 1 January 2019 there are 1,519 primary care centers in Andalusia, located so that all citizens can readily reach such a center by public transport.

The smallest geographical unit used in organizing primary care services are the districts known as zonas básicas de salud ("basic health zones"). Each zone includes one or more primary care centers, offering health care to the population. A level up from these are districts with the organizational structures to plan, direct, manage and administer these.[2] Most recently (as of 2010) these have been enumerated by 197/2007.

Above and beyond these are Health Management Areas (Áreas de Gestión Sanitaria), established by separate legislation:

Specialized medicine

Specialty care is defined under Ley 2/1998 as the second level of care. Specialty care provides the technical and human capabilities appropriate to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for conditions that cannot be handled at the primary level.

In coordination with the primary level, hospitals and their specialty centers form the necessary structure to provide this care.[3] Ésta suele ser programada y urgente, desarrollando además funciones de promoción de la salud, prevención de enfermedades, asistencia curativa y rehabilitación, así como docencia e investigación.This includes both scheduled and urgent care, and, like the primary care, encompasses health promotion, disease prevention, curative care and rehabilitation as well as teaching and research.

Hospitals and other centers

SAS manages and operates 50 hospitals (2020) throughout Andalusia. In addition they manage and operate numerous more specialized facilities:

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.sas.junta-andalucia.es/library/plantillas/externa.asp?pag=/contenidos/../contenidos/profesionales/normativas/L2_1988/L19980615.pdf Ley 2/1998 de Salud de Andalucía
  2. See ConsejerŒa de Salud, BOJA n–m. 70, 2002-06-15, p. 10.368 et. seq. for a detailed listing of the zonas básicas and how they are grouped.
  3. Decreto 462/1996 de 8 de octubre, sobre Ordenación de asistencia sanitaria especializada y órganos de dirección de los hospitales de la Asistencia Especializada.