From the design to implementation: the case of the Health Care Integration Councils (CIRA) in Chile

Excerpt

In Chile, primary health care is under municipal administration since 1981 [1]. Hospitals are under administration of geographical health services. This separation has been deemed as an obstacle for an integral functioning of the health care network [2]. In the 2005 health reform in Chile, an administrative arrangement called Health Care Integration Council (CIRA) was set. CIRAs were created in each one of the 29 geographic Health Services (HS), with the purpose of facilitating the development of collaborative relationships among providers within the health care network (see figure 1). The legal framework that regulates CIRA considers the inclusion of private providers and does not include community organisations. The purpose of this study was to explore the views of relevant stakeholders belonging to CIRA on the process of moving from design to implementation of the CIRA policy.

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