[The health basket in primary care: an emperor without clothes. SESPAS Report 2012]

Abstract

Despite the apparent stagnation, the development of primary care in response to social changes in recent decades is undeniable, both in figures and in the perception of those providing or using primary care. The traditional difficulties of defining roles and allocating resources among levels of care should be reassessed. A model is required that adjusts the health basket in primary care to today's society, to citizen's new needs and demands, and to the legitimate progress of health professionals, while maintaining the comprehensiveness of this level of care. A model with new resource allocation would increase decision-making in primary health care, thereby improving efficiency in this setting. With a view to equity, because of economies of scale, these changes should be agreed on by the Interregional Council, as the representative of the autonomous communities. The support of the Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment, the Institute for Health Information, the GuíaSalud Project and the participation of civil society in its many forms, can offer knowledge and experience for the design, implementation and evaluation of actions designed both to improve clinical practice and enhance the organizational and economic infrastructure necessary to support it.