2015 was a turning point in the history of Ribera Salud. We have strengthened our presence in the Valencian Community by becoming the majority shareholder at the Health Departments of Alzira, Torrevieja and Vinalopó. Through these deals, our group has consolidated its leading position in the concessions sector.
In a time of great challenges and reforms in the healthcare sector, the opportunities offered by big international groups are well known: through them, different visions, experiences, knowledge and technological innovation can be used to find synergies in the search for an optimum state of health for the public.
The sustainability of healthcare is a global problem, not a local one. We need to have a debate about how to improve the way it is managed because, both in Spain and in the most advanced countries, private companies contribute towards the maintenance of the welfare state.
This was shown by Harvard University, where the management model used at the Hospital de La Ribera, -Best In Class 2015 Prize for the best hospital – was presented as a case study to its students, who highlighted long term partnerships between the Administration and the private sector to provide the best public services at a lower cost, the role of interest groups in promoting healthcare and strong technological investment.
Richard Scheffler, Health Economics and Public Policy Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, agrees with the above and believes our model has saved the public purse 20% , “because it is an integrated system that changes the structure of the organization” -a model which, together with Kaiser in the US, is an example of healthcare sustainability.
It is also true that our model generates different opinions. However, perceptions would change if an observatory were set up to analyze healthcare results and care quality, with information available to the general public. Thus, during this financial year, we have worked hand in hand with CEV, creating a public-private partnership committee to highlight the role of private companies in the different sectors in society.
With the satisfaction of a job well done, the backing of prestigious universities and looking towards Europe, we bid the year farewell. However, before 2018 comes 2016 and 2017. We still have a lot of work to do. New year, new healthcare.
