Key Aspects of Spanish Private Medicine to be Discussed in Alicante on May 15 and 16

The present and future of Private Medicine in Spain will be discussed this month in Alicante. The city will host the 'VI National Conference on Private Medicine' on May 15 and 16, an event that will turn the Conference Centre of the Alicante Medical Association (COMA) into the epicenter of the debate on the present and future of Private Medicine in Spain.

The event is jointly organized by the Alicante Medical Association (COMA) and the General Council of Official Medical Colleges (OMC). The meeting will bring together representatives from the Private Medicine Sections of Medical Colleges across Spain, as well as private, mixed, and public practice doctors, legal experts, insurance companies, healthcare managers, and patient associations.

The official inauguration, on Thursday, May 15 at 16:30, will be presided over by Dr. Tomás Cobo, president of the OMC, and Dr. Hermann Schwarz, president of the COMA. Following this event, Dr. Tomás Cobo will moderate the opening panel on the current challenges of private medicine and the necessary public-private partnership. The first debate will feature, among other prominent speakers, Dr. Ana Pastor, president of AMA (Mutual Insurance Association).

Over two days, both in-person and online, key issues such as equity and quality of care, professional reconciliation in the private sector, the legal status of self-employed doctors, the history and current state of the Nomenclator, or digital identity and cybersecurity in Private Electronic Prescriptions will be addressed. The conference will also focus on defending the professional conditions of private and mixed practice doctors or the harmonization of scales and care processes among insurers.

Dr. Tomás Cobo, president of the OMC, believes that such meetings "are essential to analyze and generate solutions to the complex situation in which many freelance doctors work, who operate under regulatory, normative, and financial pressures that hinder their good practice and undoubtedly impact the universal ethical principles of medicine that our organization must always safeguard." From the OMC, we will always work to ensure the quality, efficiency, and safety of health systems, whether public, private, or public-private."

The president of COMA, Dr. Hermann Schwarz, highlights that "this Conference represents a firm step towards institutional and social recognition of the role played by private and mixed practice doctors. At COMA, we reaffirm our commitment to defending professional practice in all its forms, without distinctions among our members, fostering dialogue spaces that allow addressing common challenges and building consensual solutions, always with the aim of offering the highest quality healthcare, focused on patient well-being."

"Private Medicine today is an essential element within the healthcare system. Given the growing demand for care, it is necessary to recognize that the public system alone cannot meet all the needs of citizens. In this context, it is a priority to ensure equity in access to care, regardless of whether the model is public or private, as well as to guarantee fair professional and labor conditions for doctors," says the Private Medicine Spokesperson at COMA, Dr. José Luis Bataller.

The meeting of the National Forum of Doctors in Private Practice (FONMEP), which will be held as part of this VI National Conference, will serve to review the objectives achieved in its first year and set new goals. This Forum, promoted by the OMC and led by its 1st Vice President, Dr. María Isabel Moya, also includes the State Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) representing freelance or contracted doctors; the National Federation of Self-Employed Workers Associations (ATA) as a national and intersectoral confederation representing self-employed doctors and those practicing through professional societies; and the Federation of Scientific Medical Associations (FACME) representing various Scientific Societies.