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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Luis Durán, MD, PhD, Dept. de Proyectos Especiales, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, 476 Avenida Reforma, Colonia Juarez, Mexico City, Mexico and Ankit A. Mahadevia, BA, Health Policy Group, United States General Accounting Office, 200 W Adams St #700, Chicago, IL 60606, 312-220-7682, lduranmx1@yahoo.com.
The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) approved a plan in 2000 to divide its centrally administered system into 138 regional health units led by incumbent regional managers. Execution of the plan would make health services more accountable and responsive to regional needs. However, a key concern in implementing the plan was whether managers had the requisite skills to transition from executing central directives to managing the new units autonomously. IMSS identified the skills necessary to manage regional units and assessed managers’ proficiency in them using data from 1) a skills assessment of regional managers in 2000, 2) interviews with managers, physicians, and central planners in 2001, and 3) curricula at selected health administration programs in Mexico and abroad. The analysis found that the majority of regional managers lacked the proficiency in epidemiology, strategic planning, finance, and health quality measurement necessary to lead autonomous health units. IMSS developed a problem-based learning course with the Mexican Autonomous Institute of Technology and the National Institute of Public Health that addressed identified areas for improvement in managerial capabilities. Pilot testing has shown that the program can be effective in facilitating managers’ migration to a more autonomous role. A system-wide assessment of managerial capabilities is a key step in planning the decentralization of health services, and education programs that target identified areas for improvement can facilitate the transition to a decentralized system.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Health Reform, Professional Training
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.